YuGiOh! 5D's Shadowchasers: Shrouded World
by Digidramon
Summary: Based on the fic by Cyber Commander, introducing the Shadowchasers of Rome as they struggle with the forces of a man obsessed with overcoming his own limitations and transcending what he truely is...
1. Chapter 1: Advance Fortune Loan

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Shadowchasers: Shrouded World

This fanfiction is approved by Cyber Commander. I do not own Shadowchasers; the original idea is the property of Cyber Commander. I also do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, they are the exclusive property of Kazuki Takahashi. I do own my characters and to some degree, the plot.

This fanfiction is based on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Shadowchasers by Cyber Commander. As such, I apply all rules laid down by Cyber Commander, such as the complete use of all real life TCG rules, including the March 2009 banlist. This banlist will be the law in this fiction and I will stick to its use.

Like Cyber Commander, I will put card stats for any anime, manga, Japanese only or fan-made card at the end of the chapter in which they appear. I will also use the English TCG names for cards, or the most agreed on translation for anime, manga or Japanese only cards. I may use the original name for TCG cards under circumstances where it becomes essential.

Now, for the essential Field Spell we couldn't go without: Speed World.

-

Speed World

Field Spell Card

Image: A section of racetrack shrouded in purple energy.

If a player activates a Spell Card, other than a "Speed Spell", they take 2000 damage. During each player's Standby Phase, place 1 Speed Counter on this card for each player (max. 12 for each player). When a player takes damage, remove Speed Counters of the attacked Player from this card for each multiple of 1000 damage taken.

-

Note that Speed World will always remain in play until the end of a Riding Duel, and is unaffected by effects that would destroy it. The evidence for this is Yusei's Speed Spell – Gap Storm, essentially a Speed Spell Heavy Storm, that didn't destroy Speed World when used.

I won't use the Speed Spells presented in Stardust Accelerator, as most are rip-offs of existing Spells and ruin the unique point of a Riding Duel.

The timeline of this fiction is that it starts around two days before the Fortune Cup. According to this point, Yusei will roughly be about to escape from the Satellite on his D-Wheel to catch his rival Jack Atlas and reclaim his stolen Stardust Dragon. At this point, the events of 5D's will not affect this fic, aside from mentions to events such as the Fortune Cup (TV viewings and such).

The setting of this fiction is Rome, Italy. This version of it will remain very true to the modern state in terms of geography, although I may add in areas for the purposes of official Riding Duels. All monuments such as the Coliseum will remain intact and all districts of the city will also be kept in their modern state.

I will use the original names for any characters should they appear. This is mostly because Cyber Commander does so and partly because the recent dub names for Kiryu and Divine are things I can't stand (thank the heavens they kept Crow!) Those two names have shattered my faith in the dub (though not to the degree I stop watching it.)

As this is a 5D's fic, expect a lot of focus on Synchro Monsters. I will use Synchro Chants in this, as I think they are the worst change in the dub and they should have kept the Chants.

Release and Advance Summon are not used in this. Tribute and Tribute Summon are fine; it's just Upper Deck messing around with a little incorrect grammar problem.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Shadowchasers: Shrouded World

A Shadowchasers Fanfiction by Digidramon

Approved by Cyber Commander

"_Ignorance is not bliss, but knowledge is not power." _

(Shadowchasers Motto, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Shadowchasers by Cyber Commander)

Chapter 1: Advance Fortune Loan

Rome, Italy. Also known as the Eternal City, it has a population of roughly 3.46 million people in an area of 496.3 square miles. It is home to many monuments built in Roman times, such as the Coliseum, the Pantheon and Trajan's Column. Ancient history collides with modern drama in its streets, an ocean of humanity, a great melting pot of culture from across the world, tourists and natives mixing into one magnificent work of utter chaos.

The problem is, not all of these 'natives' should even live there. Many of those within the city are not even human, hiding behind a 'veil' of shadow…

For one average coffee shop waiter, that veil is about to be lifted…

Edward Cole stood neatly and observed his boss, Alberto Enrico, as the suited man pressed his fingertips together and sighed, sitting back in his dark leather chair. His feet brushed the edges of his pine desk lightly as he stared at his foreign employee.

"Edward," he said quietly with a smoothly layered Italian accent "you've got to pull your socks up. The customers, they complain about your poor service, your tardiness, your poor appearance… This cannot go on!" He thrust his arms into the air in sheer exasperation.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Enrico," Edward replied calmly, his harder English accent betraying him as a London native "but to be fair, Alicia barely…"

"Alicia is my most hard-working employee!" Alberto yelled at his dark-skinned waiter "do not imply she is in any way at your level of tardiness!"

"I may be out of place, but kindly explain how gossiping to her friends all the time qualifies as hard work."

"At least she gets the customers served! The customer is important, not the waiter! If the customer is happy, the waiter is hard-worker, _si_?

"_Si_," Edward sighed.

"I will give you one more week. If one more complaint reaches my desk, you hand in your apron and leave this shop. Understand?" Alberto spoke darkly.

"_Si_."

"Well, get on out there and deal with the customers!"

Edward left the office with a single dark glance at his employer. He was a tall twenty year old with stubble developing on his cheeks, dark-tanned skin and harsh storm grey eyes. Dark bags were forming under his eyes and he seemed incredibly tired, as if he hadn't slept well in a while. His long chestnut brown hair was unevenly cut, some strands brushing the lines of his jaw, some barely passing his ears.

He was wearing a dark green T-shirt with 'Enrico's Coffee: The best this side of the Atlantic' written over his chest in large black letters, and dark grey jeans under a plain white apron with several stains of spilt coffee down it. A jagged scar ran across his right cheek, a memento from his first poorly tried attempt at shaving with a razor. Clipped to his belt was a gunmetal grey deck box containing a deck of Duel Monsters cards.

As he returned to the main area of the coffee shop and busied himself finding a table to serve, his eyes fell on his fellow employee, Alicia, a pretty looking teenage girl two years his junior, with an impish smile and soft brown eyes. Her skin was caramel tanned, making her look exotic in the light of the shop, and she was wearing a knee-length green dress under her apron, revealing her dark-skinned legs. Her long silver dyed hair was tied back with a black hair band.

"Stupid perfect girl," Edward muttered under his breath. He took a step…

Then froze. Something seemed to stop him as he looked at Alicia… his eyes narrowed as he caught a glimpse of her ears and saw that they were _pointed_.

The moment passed and she was normal once more, but Edward remained still.

"_Signor?!" _he heard one of the customers, a short and stout man with a thick black beard call. He turned to the man, Alicia forgotten.

"Sorry, _signor_, I was somewhere else," he said with an apologetic smile "what can I get you?"

As he took the man's order and tried to focus on hard work for the rest of his three hour shift, his thoughts were on Alicia and her pointed ears.

Luckily, his shift flashed by and soon enough he was walking home, slightly behind Alicia. It was his misfortune that they lived in the same general area.

But as he noticed Alicia deviate from her regular route into an alleyway, his curiosity was aroused and he followed her, checking the Duel Disk on his arm just in case, It was a matter of honor that Duels were sacred and very few would promise something on the results of a Duel, only to break that promise.

He continued to follow his colleague into the alleyway, when she suddenly turned to face him.

Her ears were pointed again, he noted.

"Edward," she said, voice chill in tone "why are you following me?"

"This isn't the way to your apartment. We live in the same building, _signora_. And besides, I noticed… your ears are pointed." She gasped.

"Perceptive of you. Still, you shouldn't be following a young woman around, even if she happens to be an elf." Edward stared at her, amazed. Had she really just referred to herself as an elf? No, he must have misheard…

He knew full well he hadn't, but that was impossible. Elves simply didn't exist! Maybe she was playing a practical joke… or perhaps she was just wrong in the head…

She couldn't _really _be an _elf_, could she?

"I have every right to walk wherever I want in this city."

"Too bad you won't be walking soon, _Shadowchaser_." Edward glanced back to see the stout man he had served earlier, now wearing a Duel Disk on his arm and carrying a shining, sharp-looking switchblade he had just pulled from somewhere.

"Shadow…" Edward began, and then he realized both Alicia and the man were afraid. He could sense the terror from their stances, the way they were edging away. "What do you want?"

"Simple," Alicia said "we want Ricardo free. Free him now or we'll slit your throat!"

"Uh… that's a lovely offer…" Edward began, before remembering his Duel Disk and noticing that both of them were wearing Duel Disks too "but how about we duel? If either of you can beat me, this Ricardo guy goes free. I win, you leave me in peace!"

"Fine," Alicia chuckled "this will be short, Shadowchaser. As short as that mark on your cheek is." Then Edward realized. These people had mistaken him for something he wasn't, all for a mark on his cheek!

Alicia activated her Duel Disk as Edward did the same, mirroring her.

- (Edward 8000LP) (Alicia 8000LP) -

"I'll take the first turn," Edward said as he added a sixth card to his starting hand and noted the cards. He quickly placed one of his cards face-down in defense mode. "I Set a card." The reversed horizontal card appeared in front of him.

"Next I place one card face-down." The vertical face-down appeared behind his monster.

"Finally, I end my turn."

- (Edward 8000LP) (Alicia 8000LP) -

"My draw," Alicia called "I summon Fortune Telling Witch Hikari." A cute little girl in a golden frock, with eyes and hair of the same color, carrying a staff with a golden sun at the end appeared from a portal of golden light (0/0).

"Why a zero point monster?" Edward asked "in fact, why a zero point Normal Monster?"

"You'll see," she replied "next I activate the Spell Card Unacceptable Results, allowing me to summon a Fortune Telling Witch from my hand, like my Fortune Telling Witch En!" Another girl, this one with a crimson frock, hair and eyes appeared from a crimson portal (0/0).

"Finally, I play Good Fortune – Miracle Stone!" A piece of shining blue crystal appeared behind her two monsters, shining as lines of purple runes spun around it.

"That means all of your Fortune Telling Witches get 1000 attack points for every Fortune Telling Witch on your field!" Edward exclaimed.

"Correct," Alicia said, delivering a dazzling smile as her two monsters grew in size (2000/0x2).

"Unfortunately, Miracle Stone stops my Witches from attacking you this turn, so I'll end there."

- (Edward 8000LP) (Alicia 8000LP) -

"I draw," Edward said, looking over his hand and picking out a single card "I Flip-Summon Genex Searcher." A humanoid robot made from various pieces of scrap metal appeared as the card both turned to vertical and flipped over at once (1600/400).

"Next I sacrifice Genex Searcher to Tribute Summon Solar Genex!" Genex Searcher dissolved into golden dust that reformed into a tall yellow and black robot with a streamlined body and thin wings and jet engines on its shoulders, an amber core in its chest (2500/1500).

"That's a Level 7!" Alicia objected.

"Solar Genex can be Tribute Summoned with one Genex Monster as a Tribute," Edward explained "Next I equip my Solar Genex with Seven Completed, to raise its attack by 700." Solar Genex shone as a red numeral 7 appeared on its chest (3200/1500).

"Solar Genex, Shining Ray and destroy Fortune Telling Witch Hikari!" Energy burst from Solar Genex's chest orb in a golden stream that crushed the girl into the ground, shattering her into pieces. Alicia cried out as the blast struck her, forcing her to the ground.

(_Alicia: 6800LP_)

"I end there."

- (Edward 8000LP) (Alicia 6800LP) -

"I draw," Alicia said "next I activate the Spell Card Double Summon and bring out Fortune Telling Witch Sui and Fortune Telling Witch Fu in attack mode!" A girl in a blue frock, with blue hair and eyes, Fortune Telling Witch Sui (0/0) and a near identical girl with green hair and eyes, wearing a green frock, Fortune Telling Witch Fu (0/0) appeared from blue and green portals respectively.

Then Good Fortune – Miracle Stone glowed with red, green and blue light and all three Fortune Telling Witches glowed and grew (3000/0x3).

"You still can't beat my Solar Genex," Edward said calmly.

"Well then, I play Silent Doom to return Fortune Telling Witch Hikari to my field in defense mode," Alicia replied. The golden haired girl reappeared, crouching with a smile that made her look even cuter (0/0).

Good Fortune – Miracle Stone gained a golden light and all of the Fortune Telling Witches grew even larger (4000/0x4).

"This is over!" Alicia cried "Fortune Telling Witch Sui, attack Solar Genex!" Sui fired a jet of water from her staff, shattering Solar Genex and throwing Edward to the floor.

(_Edward: 7200LP_)

"It isn't… over!" Edward groaned.

"It is now, Shadowchaser!" Alicia roared "Fu, En, attack him directly!" The two Witches fired blasts of wind and fire respectively at Edward…

The smoke from the blasts cleared to reveal an unharmed Edward, standing behind a barrier of rainbow light.

(_Edward: 15200LP_)

"WHAT?!" Alicia screamed.

"When your monsters attacked, I played my Rainbow Life Trap," Edward said, gesturing to his now revealed Trap Card "it means that until the end of this turn, I _gain_ Life Points instead of taking damage. And all that for one card from my hand." He slotted a card into his Graveyard.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL!" Alicia shrieked, eyes blazing with fury.

"Is your turn over yet?" Edward chuckled, amused by her reaction.

"YES!"

- (Edward 15500LP) (Alicia 6800LP) -

"I draw!" Edward called. As he did so, the Rainbow Life barrier faded.

"Next I summon my Spare Genex in attack mode." A black robot with a head like a toaster appeared, clutching a flower with white petals in its claws with amazing gentleness (800/1200).

"Now I play the Spell Card Double Summon, and you know the drill, I Tribute my Spare Genex to summon Army Genex in attack mode." Spare Genex dissolved into shards of rainbow light that reformed into a hulking robot with camouflage patterns painted onto its armored body and carrying a four barreled rocket launcher on its left shoulder (2300/1300).

"So what?!" Alicia snarled "you lose next turn, no matter what pathetic monster you summon!"

"Not quite yet," Edward smirked "you see, when I Tribute a Genex to summon this commando, he blows a card on your field to shrapnel. Goodbye Miracle Stone, hello zero point fairies!"

"They're WITCHES!" Alicia shrieked.

"Who cares? Not me!" Edward yelled back as Army Genex fired a blast from its rocket launcher, blowing the glowing crystal to fragments and abruptly ending the light show.

All of the Fortune Telling Witches shrank to normal size (0/0x4).

"Now, Army Genex, attack Fortune Telling Witch En with Quaker Barrage!" Army Genex aimed its rocket launcher carefully before firing a volley of projectiles, shattering Fortune Telling Witch En in a flurry of explosions that hurled Alicia into a wall, scraping perfect skin from her arms and leaving long red marks.

(_Alicia 4500LP_)

"I end there," Edward said calmly, relaxing a little.

- (Edward 15200LP) (Alicia 4500LP) -

"I draw!" Alicia snarled; face twisting into a harsh grimace.

She smiled as she saw her card "I summon the Tuner Arcane Apprentice!" A short, hunched over man dressed in a dark purple and gold robe, with flames dancing around his palms appeared from a crimson portal (1000/400).

"A Tuner?!" Edward exclaimed.

"Yes, a Tuner!" Alicia laughed "now I Tune Arcane Apprentice with Fortune Telling Witch Sui and Fortune Telling Witch Hikari to Synchro Summon…!"

Arcane Apprentice shone and rose into the air alongside the two Witches, becoming a sphere of crackling orange energy as they soared upwards. He split into two glowing white rings that encircled the two girls, cutting them down to fluorescent orange frameworks, releasing five shining white stars that spun within the rings.

An explosion of white light tore through the stars and rings, shielding them from view…

"_Starlight gathers into a magical spirit! Shining sorcerer, burn with the soul of the light! Synchro Summon! Shine brightly, Arcanite Magician!" _Alicia chanted.

A white and blue robed magician soared out of the light, spinning a staff similar to the legendary Dark Magician's in his black gloved hands, pale purple face barely visible beneath the hood of his robe (400/1800).

"And because I used Arcane Apprentice for a Synchro Summon, I can add the Trap Assault Mode Activate to my hand!" Alicia announced, flicking through her deck and adding the card in question to her hand.

"Now what?" Edward muttered "flying monkeys? They'd be better than a Level 7 Synchro with 400 points."

"No, just my Arcanite Magician's ability. When I Synchro Summon him, he gets two Spell Counters." Two black orbs with a golden symbol on each of them appeared and spun round the white robed magician (2400/1800).

"Why's his attack going up?!"

"My Magician gains 1000 points for every Spell Counter he has!" Alicia replied "next I'll set the Assault Mode Activate Arcane Apprentice was nice enough to get me and activate my Spell Power Grasp card! This gives my Magician another Spell Counter and I can take another Spell Power Grasp from my Deck!" Another black and gold orb appeared from mid-air and spun round the Magician (3400/1800).

"Oh crud," Edward growled.

"Arcanite Magician, Arcane Storm!" Alicia cried. Arcane Apprentice raised his staff and launched a volley of lightning bolts from it, shattering Army Genex before shocking Edward and forcing him to his knees.

(_Edward:_ _14100LP_)

"I'll end by switching my Fortune Telling Witch Fu into defense mode," Alicia said. The green clothed girl smiled and knelt (0/0).

- (Edward 14100LP) (Alicia 4500LP) -

"I draw!" Edward groaned "I summon my Real Genex Coordinator in attack mode!" A sleek black robot sitting on some kind of hover disk appeared, three red eyes in the sphere of its head glowing (200/100).

"Next I activate the Monster Reborn Spell to revive my Solar Genex!" His shining robot appeared from an ankh of golden energy (2500/1500).

"What's the point of all this?" Alicia growled in irritation.

"This!" Edward exclaimed "I equip Solar Genex with Scroll of Bewitchment to change its Attribute to Dark!" Solar Genex's glow dimmed as a scroll wrapped around its arm.

"Your monster's beaten, Dark or Light!"

"Not quite!" Edward yelled "because my Solar Genex is now a Dark monster, I can Tune it with Real Genex Coordinator to Synchro Summon one of my strongest Genex…!"

Real Genex Coordinator rose into the air alongside Solar Genex and became a crackling sphere of orange energy…

"NO!" Alicia shrieked "that's a Level 9 Synchro Summon!"

"I see you can count," Edward noted "but that won't stop this Synchro from emerging!" The orange sphere of energy split into two glowing rings that surrounded Solar Genex, slicing it down to an orange frame.

"I won't let you do this!"

"Tough, cause it's happening NOW!" Edward cried. Seven glowing stars emerged from the orange frame of Solar Genex and spun within the Synchro rings before an explosion of purple black light shrouded the rings and stars.

"NO!"

"_Black steel of the world, rise up in my service! Cast down my foe in this battle, and end this game! Synchro Summon! Unleash your power, Real Genex Kurokishian!" _Edward chanted.

A black metal golem emerged in a burst of energy, descending slowly towards the ground, extending out arms like grain silos, ending in glowing thrusters. A glowing disk of pale blue energy spun in its chest and eyes of the same color gazed down at Arcanite Magician soullessly (2500/2000).

"That's just pathetic for a Level 9!" Alicia laughed.

"Too bad you're wrong," Edward replied coldly "you see, when I successfully Synchro Summon Real Genex Kurokishian, I gain control of the highest Level monster on _your_ field. I think Arcanite Magician fits the bill pretty well." Real Genex Kurokishian raised a bulky arm and launched a stream of pale energy at Arcanite Magician, who groaned and hovered over to stand beside the immense Synchro Monster.

"Wha… NO! Arcanite Magician, get your SORRY BACKSIDE OVER HERE NOW!" Arcanite Magician remained impassive.

"This ends now," Edward snapped bluntly "you lose this, Alicia. You might be an elf, and I'm just a human, but no matter what I can win! First, I activate Smashing Ground, which destroys the monster with the most defense on your field, but you only have Fu so it's a pretty easy choice!" A giant fist hammered down from the sky, shattering Fortune Telling Witch Fu as she screamed.

"Arcanite Magician, attack your former master with Arcane Storm!" Arcanite Magician fired bolts of lightning from his staff, catching Alicia and hurling the elf to the ground with a scream.

(_Alicia: 1100LP_).

"Real Genex Kurokishian…!" Edward began.

"NO! Shadowchaser, MERCY!" Alicia shrieked.

"Unfortunately, you've got the wrong idea," Edward said "no matter what a Shadowchaser is, I'm not one. Real Genex Kurokishian…!"

"But the mark!"

"It's a shaving cut, you blind fool!"

"WHAT?!" the dwarf with the switchblade exclaimed "ALICIA, YOU LIED TO ME, YOU TRICKY BITCH OF AN ELF!"

"Moving on!" Edward interrupted "Real Genex Kurokishian, attack her directly and end this Duel!" Kurokishian raised one of its bulky arms and launched a blast of plasma from the thrusters at the end of the limb, catching Alicia in a searing blast and forcing a scream of rage from her lips.

(_Alicia: 0LP_)

The elf stood up shakily, groaning as she propped herself up against the wall.

"Not… a damn… Shadowchaser!" she hissed.

"This is your fault!" the dwarf howled "now we'll get the 'chasers down on us for sure, you brainless bitch!"

"THEN KILL HIM ALREADY, YOU SPINELESS TWIT!" Alicia roared. The dwarf glared at her before hurling himself forward, readying the switchblade.

He was about to slice a gash in Edward's throat when a sword sprang from beside the paralyzed victor and blocked the vicious swing.

Standing beside Edward was a tall, hard-faced woman maybe three or four years older then him, dressed in a dark grey tank top and plain grey jeans. She was gripping the sword, a sheer masterpiece of craftsmanship, in her right hand and holding off the switchblade with no effort at all before hurling out a kick and knocking the blade from the dwarf's hand.

Her ebony hair tumbled down her shoulders in a mass of curls and harsh green eyes glared at the assailant from her soft, girlish face. However, something about her deep eyes seemed to make her appear twenty years older, as if she had dealt with horrors beyond the comprehension of most people.

In truth, of course, she had.

"Frederick," she said, her voice measured and calm as she slid the sword into a sheath on her back "it's been a while since we dealt with you. And this elfin whore as well, that's interesting. Where'd you pick up the incompetent help who can't even recognize a Shadowchaser when she sees one?"

Frederick, the dwarf, was now pale-faced as he stared her in the face, trying to stare right into her eyes.

"Joelle…" he began nervously "I don't want any trouble… seriously, I weren't actually gonna…"

"Gonna what? Slash the kid's throat open? I just stopped you doing precisely that."

"No, please… just gimme another chance!"

"Another chance?" she said, now adopting a sarcastic tone "I seem to recall a poor innocent dwarf saying that the last time I ran into him… and I was thick enough to do so. Well, how times change, from attempted mugging to attempted murder… and I doubt Jalal's gonna let me free you this time."

"But… the Treaty… a fair fight!" he pleaded. She sighed.

"Well, I did park my D-Wheel round here…"

"There you go!" he exclaimed "a Riding Duel can sort this mess out!"

"For you, perhaps," she commented "but not her." She gestured to Alicia.

"What're you doing here? What is this? Why'd I just duel an elf?" Edward burst out.

"I'd love to play quiz the Shadowchaser, kid, but I don't have time. Paolo, get him back to base safely or I'll personally get you scrubbing the toilets for the next three days."

Someone else stepped from the shadows, a man slightly shorter than Joelle, wearing a long white shirt that trailed over the top of his jeans like a skirt. He wore black loafers on his feet and a brown leather jacket over his shirt. A plain black cowboy style hat was perched at an angle across his face, hiding his left eye from view. His right eye was a pale brown, slightly watery, and his hair was a dark brown, like Edward's. Paolo smiled at Edward and gestured, leading the bewildered duelist away from Joelle and the dwarf.

"We gonna throw down?" Frederick asked.

"Once the kid's clear," Joelle replied…

Card Stats:

Monsters:

Genex Searcher

EARTH/ Machine/Effect /Level 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 400

When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 "Genex" monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck in face-up Attack Position.

Solar Genex

LIGHT/ Machine/Effect /Level 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1500

This card can be Normal Summoned by Tributing 1 "Genex" monster. Each time a face-up "Genex" monster(s) you control is sent to the Graveyard, inflict 500 damage to your opponent.

Spare Genex

DARK/ Machine/Tuner /Level 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1200

Activate only while you control a "Genex" monster, other than this card. Until the End Phase you can treat the name of this card as "Genex Controller". This effect can only be used once per turn.

Army Genex

EARTH/ Machine/Effect /Level 6/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1300

If this card is Tribute Summoned by Tributing a "Genex" monster, you can destroy 1 card your opponent controls.

(The Genex Monsters were released in the Duel Terminal – Invasion of Worms and Duel Terminal – Justice Strikes Back systems in Japan. A U.S. release date is currently unknown.)

Real Genex Coordinator

DARK/ Spellcaster/Tuner /Level 2/ATK: 200/DEF: 100

When this card is Normal Summoned or Special Summoned, you can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower "Genex" monster from your hand.

Real Genex Kurokishian

DARK/ Machine/Synchro/Effect /Level 9/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000

1 "Genex" Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner DARK monster  
When this card is successfully Synchro Summoned, gain control of 1 face-up monster with the highest Level your opponent controls.

(The Real Genex cards, a sub-Archetype of the Genex monsters, were released in Duel Terminal – Champion of Chaos in Japan. A U.S. release date, if any, is unknown.)

Fortune Telling Witch Hikari

LIGHT/ Spellcaster /Level 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0

Fortune Telling Witch En

FIRE/ Spellcaster /Level 2/ATK: 0/DEF: 0

Fortune Telling Witch Fu

WIND/ Spellcaster /Level 3/ATK: 0/DEF: 0

Fortune Telling Witch Sui

WATER/ Spellcaster /Level 4/ATK: 0/DEF: 0

(The Fortune Telling Witches are used by Carly Nagisa in Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's. Creative credit goes to the creators of 5D's.)

Spells:

Good Fortune – Miracle Stone

Continuous Spell Card

Image: A shard of pale blue crystal in a void of golden light, with Fortune Telling Witches Hikari, En, Fu and Sui hovering around it and lines of purple text spinning around in the void.

All "Fortune Telling Witch" monsters you control gain 1000 ATK x the number of "Fortune Telling Witch" monsters you control. "Fortune Telling Witch" monsters cannot attack the turn this card is activated.

Unacceptable Results

Quick-Play Spell Card

Image: Fortune Telling Witch Hikari hovering, while Fortune Telling Witch En rises from a purple seal behind her.

Activate only when a "Fortune Telling Witch" monster is Summoned. Special Summon 1 "Fortune Telling Witch" monster from your hand.

(Good Fortune – Miracle Stone and Unacceptable Results were used by Carly Nagisa in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. Creative credit goes to the writers of 5D's.)

So, how was that folks? As Edward finishes his Duel against Alicia and is saved by the mysterious Joelle and Paolo, he is taken away to apparent safety while Joelle remains behind to face off against the dwarf Frederick...

Next time, look out for the first Riding Duel of Shrouded World in 'Gate Defender'!


	2. Chapter 2: Gate Defender

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Shadowchasers: Shrouded World

Note: This chapter features a Riding Duel. As such, the turn end display will also include Speed Counters, labelled as SPC.

Chapter 2: Gate Defender

One of the most notable updates to the Duel Monsters game was the invention of Riding Duels. Featuring the use of motorcycles named D-Wheels, this system gave the game a new thrill, the wind in your face and the sun in your eyes as you rode.

Of course, these Duels were dangerous to the participants, as the crash risk was high in such a distracting activity. An autopilot system installed into all D-Wheels was designed to avoid obstacles and reduce this risk. Unless you deliberately turned off the autopilot, you were safe enough...

Joelle faced down Frederick, staring at the dwarf with ice cold calm.

"Let's do this," she said, once she had judged Paolo and the guy with him were out of the area. She turned to the shadows and stepped into an alleyway, walking briskly until she came to a granite grey D-Wheel, polished so heavily that even the faintest light reflected from it. She mounted it and pulled on her helmet, which had a dark grey gemstone set into its black surface.

"_You ready, Shadowchaser?" _Frederick called through her helmet radio.

"How'd you get into my com link?"

"_I'm a Shadowjack, sue me. Let's ride already. Meet me at the Palazzo Luce."_ Joelle frowned.

The _Palazzo Luce _was a newly built Riding Duel course; a stadium made entirely of polished white marble and designed for great Riding Duels.

As for Shadowjacks, they're hackers. But of course, hacker is a loose term, seeing as the tools of a Shadowjack aren't codes and programs, but magic instead. Joelle muttered 'Shadowjack' under her breath and thought of all the crimes she was going to end up convicting Frederick of if she beat him.

She kicked up the D-Wheel stand and revved it up, activating the powerful engine with the flick of a switch. She pressed down on the pedals and shot forwards, soon leaving the gloomy alleyway and entering the sunlit highways, dodging around traffic, mopeds, cars, suddenly appeared pedestrians, other D-Wheels...

She overtook a crimson D-Wheel and ignored the stream of profanities hurled at her by its rider as she accelerated and left him behind.

Five minutes later, after dodging through traffic and nearly causing several pile-ups, she arrived by the _Palazzo Luce_ and noticed Frederick sitting calmly on a white and gold D-Wheel and whistling, of all things.

"Well well, you didn't back down, girly girl," he laughed "let's ride!"

"I'll kick this off!" Joelle replied sharply, pressing a button on her console.

_Duel Mode engaged. Autopilot online._

The screen on her D-Wheel changed, becoming a display showing her field and Frederick's, as well as both player's Speed Counters and Life Points. She leaned forwards slightly to get a better look at the screen in the high-speed environment they were about to enter, as she drew five cards from her deck, idly noticing Frederick do the same.

_Activating Speed World_

The virtual card appeared on both screens and circles of white light expanded out around the D-Wheels, turning the surrounding area into a purple tinged shadow of what it truly was.

_Ready... Set... Begin Riding Duel!_

- (Joelle 8000LP, 0SPC) (Frederick 8000LP, 0SPC) -

"I start!" Joelle called as the two D-Wheels leapt forwards like suddenly released hounds after a rabbit. They started weaving and dodging through traffic, sometimes briefly mounting pavements to dodge around pedestrians. There was a click as both duelists Speed Counters increased (1SPCx2).

"Rome," Frederick spat "full of people lacking a brain!"

"I Set one monster!" Joelle called out, slamming the card down onto her D-Wheel's card panel. The horizontal monster appeared in front of her, reversed card fading after a second, but still visible on the two screens.

"I'll place one card face-down and end."

- (Joelle 8000LP, 1SPC) (Frederick 8000LP, 1SPC) -

"My move!" Frederick called out as his D-Wheel swerved to avoid a lamppost and a couple strolling past. There was a second click (2SPCx2).

"You might have something with that brainless comment," Joelle muttered.

"Yeah, Italians," Frederick growled "I set three cards face-down and summon my Infernity Archfiend in attack mode!" A tall, skeletal thin demon clad in a grey shroud, with pale purple skin and fiery orange hair appeared from a purple black portal beside his D-Wheel and hovered beside him (1800/1200).

"_Infernity?" _Joelle thought _"I've never heard of those cards before..." _

"Infernity Archfiend, attack her face-down!" Infernity Archfiend lunged for the monster, which appeared as a massive stone warrior with two swords sheathed across his shoulders, the Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000). The Archfiend's claws scraped uselessly against the statue's stone hide, before a forceful hand pushed him back to Frederick's field. The shockwave struck the dwarf's D-Wheel and he groaned.

(_Frederick: 7800LP_).

"I end there," he muttered.

- (Joelle 8000LP, 2SPC) (Frederick 7800LP, 2SPC) -

"I draw!" Joelle called as their Speed Counters rose (3SPCx2).

"I sacrifice Giant Soldier of Stone to Tribute Summon Hieracosphinx!" Her Soldier of Stone dissolved into golden dust that reformed into a large, seven foot tall lion-like creature with black wings and a head like that commonly seen on the Egyptian god Horus (2400/1200). The Sphinx spread its wings as it galloped beside Joelle's D-Wheel.

"Now, I activate my Speed Spell – Angel Baton! This lets me draw 2 cards, so long as I discard one card." She drew and slotted her Great Spirit into her Graveyard. "Now I play my Speed Spell – Accel Soul, which allows me to discard up to three cards from my hand and gain that many Speed Counters! I discard one card, to gain a single Speed Counter!" She discarded her Golem Sentry (Joelle: 4SPC).

"I activate my Trap, Reckless Greed, allowing me to draw two cards, but I can't draw for my next two turns!" She drew the two cards and smiled "I play Speed Spell – Summon Speeder to bring out my Sacred Guardian!" A massive statue of a jackal-headed man wielding a long spear and a shield appeared from a brown portal (DEF: 1000).

"Hieracosphinx, attack his Infernity Archfiend!" Hieracosphinx cawed and charged forwards, raking Infernity Archfiend with its talons. Frederick groaned as the monster kept going through the shattering Archfiend and slashed at his D-Wheel.

(_Frederick: 7200LP_).

"I activate a Trap Card, Rope of Life, allowing me to bring back my Archfiend at the cost of my whole hand!" the dwarf shouted. His Infernity Archfiend reappeared, being pulled by a rope that it released as it landed by its master's D-Wheel (ATK: 2600).

"And I forgot to mention that my Trap also grants my monster an extra 800 points. In addition, my Archfiend adds an Infernity card from my Deck to my hand when Special Summoned, so I choose my Infernity Force Trap." He searched his deck and added the chosen card to his hand.

"Damn it," Joelle hissed "I end my turn."

- (Joelle 8000LP, 4SPC) (Frederick 7200LP, 3SPC) -

There was a click as Frederick drew (Joelle: 5SPC) (Frederick: 4SPC).

"I lay down one card and summon Infernity Dwarf in attack mode!" A short, stout dwarf wielding a flaming battleaxe leapt from a purple black portal, hovering beside Infernity Archfiend and Frederick's D-Wheel (ATK: 800).

"This is the most ridiculous pun on monsters since Demetrius the goblin," Joelle muttered as her D-Wheel swerved around a group of teenage D-Wheelers.

"What did he do?" Frederick asked.

"Used Goblins," Joelle replied.

"Well, this Dwarf carries more than an axe," Frederick said "so long as I have no cards in my hand; all of monsters inflict Piercing Damage. All of the Infernity monsters have effects like that."

"Hence why you were so willing to lose your whole hand last turn," Joelle realised.

"Yep!" Frederick chuckled "Infernity Archfiend, attack her Sacred Guardian!" The Archfiend lunged for Joelle's monster and raked at it with its claws. The statue didn't shatter, but Joelle cried out as she felt claw marks on her arm.

(_Joelle: 6400LP, 4SPC_).

"Why's that Guardian still there?!"

"Sacred Guardian can't be destroyed by battle while in defence mode," Joelle explained coolly. Frederick ground his teeth together.

"Your move!" he snapped.

- (Joelle 6400LP, 4SPC) (Frederick 7200LP, 4SPC) -

Joelle looked over her hand as their Speed Counters increased (5SPCx2).

"I Set one card and end," she said as her Spell/Trap appeared and vanished.

- (Joelle 6400LP, 5SPC) (Frederick 7200LP, 5SPC) -

"I draw!" Frederick called "now I summon my Dark Resonator!" A small demon dressed in a black shroud, with a crimson collar like a jester's and carrying a tuning fork and drumstick appeared with a cackle (ATK: 1300). Their Speed Counters rose at the same time (6SPCx2).

"Next I play D-Tribe, turning all the monsters on my field into Dragons until the end of the turn!" The card flipped up and his monsters grunted, becoming more draconic in appearance, growing small wings and serrated talons, faces becoming scaly.

"One of the problems with my Infernity Monsters is stuff like your Hieracosphinx," he explained "the problem is, none of the Infernity monsters have over 2300 original attack. So, to remedy that little weakness, I chucked in some cards with more power. Like the one I'm about to play! I Tune Dark Resonator and Infernity Archfiend to Synchro Summon...!" Dark Resonator struck its tuning fork with its drumstick, vibrating the fork until the Tuner became a sphere of crackling orange energy and rose into the air alongside Infernity Archfiend...

The Dark Resonator became three glowing rings that encircled Infernity Archfiend, cutting it down to an orange framework as their owner's D-Wheel skidded around a corner, followed closely by Joelle. Four shining stars escaped from the framework to spin around inside the rings, until an explosion of purple-black energy obscured the Synchro Summon from view.

"_The ruler's shouts echo throughout! Hammer of victory, shatter the very earth! Synchro Summon! Flap your wings, Exploder Dragonwing!" _Frederick chanted.

"You copied that word for word from Jack Atlas!" Joelle shouted angrily.

"So sue me! It's not like he copyrighted that chant!" A jet-black dragon burst from the Synchro Summon, vicious sabre fangs jutting from its mouth and crimson eyes glaring at Joelle. Massive wings exploded out behind Exploder Dragonwing as its thick tail thrashed in mid-air (ATK: 2400).

The very appearance of the dragon sent people screaming and running for cover, too terrified to notice the two D-Wheelers battling it out under the beast's shadow.

"Now, Exploder Dragonwing, attack Hieracosphinx!" Exploder Dragonwing roared and unleashed a searing jet of black flames that engulfed the noble Sphinx.

"But their points are equal!"

"But when Exploder Dragonwing battles a monster with equal to or less attack, it can destroy it with its effect automatically and deal damage to you equal to that monster's attack without applying damage calculation!" Hieracosphinx exploded, sending shards of stone into Joelle's D-Wheel and drawing a grunt of pain from her lips as Exploder Dragonwing's flame jet seared into her.

(_Joelle: 4000LP, 4SPC_).

She immediately fell behind as her Speed Counters dropped down by two.

"I end my turn," Frederick said smugly as Exploder Dragonwing roared again.

- (Joelle 4000LP, 4SPC) (Frederick 7200LP, 6SPC) -

Joelle looked over her field with despair, knowing she couldn't draw...

There was a distracting click and she looked down at the Speed Counter display on her D-Wheel (Joelle: 5SPC) (Frederick 7SPC).

But it didn't matter. She had seen the face-down card and remembered what it did.

"I activate my face-down!" she said "my second Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" The card flipped up, previously having only been used as a distraction, but now having a single purpose. She drew her two cards and smirked as she saw one.

She discarded her Speed Spell – Final Attack this time, and set the other monster she had drawn.

"I end my turn."

- (Joelle 4000LP, 5SPC) (Frederick 7200LP, 7SPC) -

Frederick drew with a soft chuckle as his D-Wheel almost ran over a passing cat.

Joelle noted the black cat as it passed. She hoped that it would bring Frederick some bad luck, as she needed him to be really unlucky. Their Speed Counters instantly increased (Joelle: 6SPC) (Frederick: 8SPC).

"Well," he said "ain't I a lucky guy or what? I play my Speed Spell – Sonic Buster to deal half of my Dragonwing's attack to you as damage!" As his card appeared, silver energy burst from Exploder Dragonwing and struck Joelle's D-Wheel, making her cry out as the energy violently exploded.

(_Joelle: 2800LP, 5SPC_).

"Now, Dragonwing, attack her face-down!" Frederick ordered. Exploder Dragonwing lunged for her face-down card, only to be met with the rising form of a black jar, a leering single-eyed face trapped within (DEF: 600).

"MORPHING JAR?!" the dwarf howled.

"Exactly," Joelle said as Exploder Dragonwing crushed her Jar with a swipe of its vicious talons "if your Infernity cards need zero cards in your hand for their effects to work, five cards in your hand ought to be a burden they can't handle! On top of that, it lets me get up to speed again!" She winced as Exploder Dragonwing lashed its claws into her D-Wheel, forcing her to swerve away and dodge an old woman walking past with her shopping. The woman swore in Italian as the granite grey D-Wheel narrowly missed her.

(_Joelle: 1000LP, 4SPC_).

"Sorry!" Joelle called back as both she and Frederick drew five cards thanks to Morphing Jar's effect, the dwarf muttering vicious sounding oaths into his beard as he did so.

She smiled as she saw precisely the card she needed in her hand.

"I end my turn," Frederick growled.

- (Joelle 1000LP, 4SPC) (Frederick 7200LP, 7SPC) -

"I draw!" Joelle called, free of Reckless Greed's restriction and smiling as their Speed Counters increased (Joelle: 5SPC) (Frederick: 8SPC).

"I activate Speed Spell – Accel Soul and toss my Giant Soldier of Stone, Guardian Statue and Criosphinx to increase my Speed Counters by three!" There were three clicks in rapid succession as her Counters were raised (Joelle: 8SPC).

"Next I activate Speed Spell – Repulse Rebirth! This allows me to revive a monster from my Graveyard, provided its Level is equal to or less than my Speed Counters, and in this case, I choose Hieracosphinx!" Her avian headed lion reappeared, spreading its wings as it galloped beside Sacred Guardian (DEF: 1200).

"What's the point in bringing back old monsters?" Frederick growled in clear irritation "just end this already." Joelle smirked.

"You asked for it, then," she said "my Sacred Guardian is a Tuner Monster, so let's show you what I've got! I Tune my Level 2 Sacred Guardian with my Level 6 Hieracosphinx to Synchro Summon...!"

Sacred Guardian rose into the air alongside Hieracosphinx and became a sphere of crackling orange energy that shot straight up into the sky and split into two glowing rings that flew down, encircling the rising Hieracosphinx and cutting it down to an orange framework that released six glowing stars.

The stars spun within the rings before an explosion of golden light ripped through the Synchro Summon...

"_Knight of shining radiance, come forth to stem the tide of darkness! Emerge now to aid your humble knight in need! Synchro Summon! Purest soul of all, JALAL THE DRAGONBORN!" _Joelle chanted.

A man emerged from the golden light, dressed in shining armour like that of medieval knights, drawing a well-made longsword and raising his shield, which bore the emblem of a golden dragon. His well-tanned skin spoke of long times in sunlight and his rich blonde hair shone like gold in the radiance of the Synchro Summon.

However, the man seemed somehow more than human, as indicated by his sharp feral features and long pointed ears (ATK: 2600).

"Jalal the what?!" Frederick exclaimed "that ain't seriously a real card!"

"Oh, it's real alright," Joelle said "clearly, you've never had the pleasure of dueling a Shadowchaser who used this particular monster. You see, Jalal the Dragonborn is one of two things that show a person as being a Shadowchaser..."

"One being the mark, the other being this card. Only a true Shadowchaser can ever play Jalal the Dragonborn, and I'd seriously advise any pickpockets looking for a buck to stay off of Jalal."

"What's so special about one card?"

"It's not really the card that's special," Joelle replied "although it is important to us Shadowchasers, it's who it _represents _who matters. You see, Jalal the Dragonborn is the very image of a Shadow-Touched named Jalal, who is the very heart and soul of the Shadowchasers, and without him, we wouldn't be here. But I'll have plenty of time to tell you his story when this is over... Heck, maybe you'll be lucky enough to meet the man himself, though I doubt a dwarf like yourself has any interesting crimes for Jalal to inspect..."

"HEY!"

"What matters now is Jalal the Dragonborn's ability. Once per turn, I can pay half of my Life Points..." She was surrounded by a crimson aura (_Joelle: 500LP, 8SPC_). "In order to remove from play a Normal or Quick-Play Spell, or Normal or Counter Trap and put a Rune Counter on Jalal's sword."

"Rune Counter?"

"Yes, Rune Counter," Joelle said "I remove my Speed Spell – Final Attack." The card slid out of her Graveyard and she put it in her pocket calmly as a glowing symbol appeared on Jalal the Dragonborn's longsword. "You'll see the significance of that in a minute. For now, I remove the nine Rock Monsters in my Graveyard from play." The cards slid out of her Graveyard and she pocketed them.

"For what?"

"To summon my Megarock Dragon!" she cried, slashing the card onto her D-Wheel's card panel.

A massive dragon, 15 foot tall at least, burst from the ground, body made entirely of pale grey rocks. Legs as thick as tree trunks crashed down onto the road before the dragon rose into the air and hovered beside her D-Wheel. A crown of rocky spines crested its great head as it reared up and roared, crimson eyes blazing like fires (ATK: ?).

"Why are its points undecided?" Frederick asked.

"Because its original attack and defence points are equal to the number of Rock monsters I removed to summon it times 700. Since I removed nine Rock monsters, that adds up to 6300 points." Her dragon let out a roar as all of the monsters appeared on its skin, melting into it (ATK: 6300).

"WHAT?! THAT THING COULD TAKE DOWN AN F.G.D WITHOUT A SWEAT!"

"No it couldn't," Joelle replied neatly "you failed to remember that Five God Dragon can only be destroyed in battle by a _Light _monster. However, Megarock Dragon will have no trouble whatsoever with your two monsters."

"It will when I play this!" Frederick shouted "Attribute Martyr! This means I can choose one Attribute and when a monster of that Attribute battles another monster, its attack points are decreased by the original attack of the other monster BEFORE damage calculation! I pick Earth!" His Trap flipped up and a net of energy appeared and wrapped tightly around Megarock Dragon.

"Try all you like," Joelle said "you can't win, no matter what." Her brain was already at work, and she soon outlined her victory despite the handicap of Attribute Martyr. "Megarock Dragon, attack Infernity Dwarf!" Her dragon roared and charged, stamping its leg down onto Infernity Dwarf and crushing the monster even as its power decreased from Attribute Martyr (ATK: 5500).

Frederick growled in pain as the shockwave from the attack struck his D-Wheel and he started to spin out, before the autopilot corrected the spin and he kept going.

(_Frederick: 2500LP, 4SPC_).

"You still can't beat me!" he yelled defiantly.

"Yes I can," she replied "you wanted to know what Jalal's Rune Counter does, now I'll show you. I remove the Rune Counter from Jalal in order to use the effect of the card I removed to put the Counter on him in the first place." She pulled Speed Spell – Final Attack from her jacket and showed it to Frederick "I removed Speed Spell – Final Attack. Its effect can only be used when I have eight or more Speed Counters, and it doubles the attack of one of my monsters. I choose Jalal the Dragonborn." Jalal shone with golden light as the symbol on his blade faded away (ATK: 5200).

"NO... NO!" Frederick howled as Jalal the Dragonborn readied his longsword.

"Jalal the Dragonborn!" Joelle called coldly "Sword of the Ancients, and slay his Exploder Dragonwing! Here's a message from that kid you tried to kill, Frederick..."

"YOU LOSE! GO, JALAL!"

Jalal the Dragonborn called out a battle cry and leapt at Exploder Dragonwing, blocking the dragon's talons with his shield before slicing at its neck with a fierce blow from his sword...

There was a second of silence before Exploder Dragonwing's head slid from its shoulders and the beast exploded, catching its owner in a vicious blast as Jalal's momentum carried him downwards and he slashed at Frederick's D-Wheel, blade catching the rider through the heart. The holographic image failed to harm the dwarf, but Frederick screamed all the same as pressurised steam erupted from his D-Wheel and the word 'LOSER' flashed up on the console.

(_Frederick: 0LP, 2SPC_).

- (Joelle: 500LP, 8SPC) (Frederick: 0LP, 2SPC) -

Fredrick's D-Wheel skidded to a stop and toppled over, restraints snapping open as the dwarf crawled away.

As he crawled, a booted foot slammed down in front of him and he looked up to see Joelle, the Shadowchaser holding out a pale blue gemstone towards him.

"Please..." he begged "don't do this... I didn't mean it..." She glared at him coldly though her visor.

"If you didn't mean to attack," she said "then why attack the kid? Frederick, you're under arrest on charges of using magic for the purposes of hacking software and attempted murder. There's nothing else to be said."

The gemstone glowed and Frederick howled as he vanished instantly, his screams the last reminder he had been there at all...

Joelle pocketed the gemstone and calmly strolled back to her D-Wheel with the air of someone completing a far too easy to accomplish task. As she pulled her deck from its slot on her Duel Disk, her com link crackled into life.

"_Joelle? You there?"_

"Yeah, Paolo. Did you get the kid back safely?" Her concern was noted by her colleague, it was rare for her to even notice most other beings in half the emotional response she now showed.

"_Not one hitch on the way back. He's resting up now. I haven't told him anything yet, figured I should wait for you. Besides, it might be easier to handle if his rescuer tells him the truth."_

"It's never easy, though."

"_I never said it would be easy, only easier. He'll have to accept sooner or later, and he held up well considering the circumstances."_

"Sure. I'll be back soon. I just need to pick up that elf he left behind. Frederick's in custody now."

"_Did you use Jalal this time, or did the 'Adamant Queen' prove herself above such mortal trappings as a Warrior?" _He was teasing her, as she fully expected.

"Alright, I used Jalal. The guy was tough, I'll admit it. I arrested him, so how do my methods affect the result?" There was nothing but static, he had hung up. She swore under her breath and mounted the D-Wheel, sliding her readjusted deck into place as the card panel retracted to standby mode, the two halves wrapping around the central portion of the Duel Disk like a boa constrictor around its prey. Magnetic clamps locked with a soft ring of colliding metal.

As she raced away from the scene, familiar streets no challenge to her as she dodged around D-Wheelers and pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, her mind fixed on the young man she had seen defeat a Shadow alone.

Regardless, she knew, there were tests beyond a single elf. If he was worthy of joining the ranks, he would have to first show that to her, her colleagues and the one beyond them all...

She entered the dark alleyway, dismounting her D-Wheel with a graceful spring and keeping her helmet on as she withdrew the gemstone from her pocket, striding neatly towards where she had left Alicia...

A single word tore from her lips as she saw the space before her, darkness crowding the edges of the scene, stains of alcohol and other, less pleasant liquids on the ground, shining shards of glass scattered around.

"Idiot."

Then three more.

"JOELLE, YOU IDIOT!"

There was no shocked elf there now, just empty alleyway...

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Card Stats:

Monsters:

Sacred Guardian

EARTH/ Rock/Tuner /Level 2/ATK: 0/DEF: 1000

If this card is used for a Synchro Summon, at least one other Synchro Material Monster must be a Rock-Type Monster. While this card is in face-up defence position, it cannot be destroyed by battle.

(Sacred Guardian is my own invention and credit for it goes to me.)

Jalal the Dragonborn

LIGHT/ Warrior/Synchro/Effect /Level 8/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2400

1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters

This card cannot be Special Summoned except via Synchro Summon. Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can pay half your Life Points to remove from play 1 Normal or Quickplay Spell or 1 Normal or Counter Trap from either Graveyard to place 1 Rune Counter on this card (max. 1). At any time during your or your opponent's turn, you may remove a Rune Counter on this card to duplicate the effect of the card that was removed from play as this card's effect.

(Jalal the Dragonborn is not my property. It was invented by Cyber Commander, and may only be used in a Shadowchasers fanfiction authorized by Cyber Commander. All credit for Jalal the Dragonborn and its inspiration character goes to Cyber Commander.)

Spells:

Speed Spell – Angel Baton

Normal Spell Card

Image: An angel similar to the one depicted on 'Graceful Charity' smiling and holding a glowing green gemstone.

Activate only while you control "Speed World" with 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards. Send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard.

(Speed Spell – Angel Baton was first used by Yusei in the special of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. All credit for it goes to the writers of 5D's.)

Speed Spell – Accel Soul

Normal Spell Card

Image: Yusei's D-Wheel speeding past as three glowing cards fly backwards from it. One of the cards is visible as 'Speed Warrior', while another partially revealed card appears to be the Spell 'One for One.'

Activate only when you control a 'Speed World' with 4 or more Speed Counters. Discard up to three cards from your hand and gain Speed Counters equal to the number of discarded cards.

(Speed Spell – Accel Soul is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

Speed Spell – Summon Speeder

Normal Spell Card

Image: Dunames Dark Witch rising from a glowing burst of energy.

Activate only while you control a "Speed World" with 4 or more Speed Counters on it. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your hand.

(Speed Spell – Summon Speeder was first used by Mukuro Enjo and Yusei Fudo in Episode 17 of 5D's. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of 5D's.)

Speed Spell – Sonic Buster

Normal Spell Card

Image: A burst of energy striking a man. The monster releasing the energy is unrecognisable.

Activate only while a "Speed World" you control has 4 or more Speed Counters on it. Select 1 monster you control and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half its ATK. (This effect does not resolve if this card's effect reduces your opponent's Life Points to 0.)

(Speed Spell – Sonic Buster was first used by Tetsu Ushio against Yusei Fudo in Episode 3 of 5D's. Creative credit goes to the writers of 5D's.)

Speed Spell – Repulse Rebirth

Normal Spell Card

Image: Evoltector Chevalier raising his sword as a comet of white light flies through a sky coated in purple Speed World energy.

Activate only when you control a 'Speed World' with four or more Speed Counters on it. Select one monster in your Graveyard with a level equal to or lower than your current Speed Counters and Special Summon it. That monster cannot attack and is removed from play during the End Phase.

(Speed Spell – Repulse Rebirth is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

Speed Spell – Final Attack

Normal Spell Card

Image: B.E.S. Tetran descending into a planet's atmosphere as numerous Gradius surround it.

Activate only while you control a "Speed World" with 8 or more Speed Counters on it. Double the ATK of 1 monster you control. That monster cannot attack your opponent directly and is destroyed during the End Phase.

(Speed Spell – Final Attack was first used by Yusei Fudo against Jack Atlas in Episode 26 of 5D's. Creative credit goes to the writers of 5D's.)

Traps:

Attribute Martyr

Continuous Trap Card

Image: Gogiga Gagagigo charging at Freed the Brave Wanderer, as Marauding Captain leaps to defend Freed.

When you activate this card, declare one Attribute. When a monster of the declared Attribute battles, decrease its ATK by the original ATK of the other monster before applying damage calculation. Destroy this card if two monsters of the same Attribute battle.

(Attribute Martyr is my own invention and credit for it goes to me.)

Next time on Shrouded World, it's time for Edward to learn the truth about Shadows and Shadowchasers. On top of that, one of the Rome Shadowchasers starts a mission to track down Alicia and it is revealed exactly what crimes the elf committed alongside Frederick and to some degree, how their partnership started.

So watch out for Chapter 3, as this Shadowchaser finds someone with eyes on the crowd, just like 'Shien's Spy' and that names the next chapter well!


	3. Chapter 3: Shien's Spy

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Shadowchasers: Shrouded World

Chapter 3: Shien's Spy

Joelle continued to curse her stupidity in assuming the elf would stay put as she rode her D-Wheel back to the Rome Shadowchaser's home and base of operations.

The building itself was a two storey townhouse situated in the _Parione _district of central Rome. Its walls were pure whitewashed, and its roof consisted of bright orange slates. Many windows gave vantage points for the Shadowchasers within and its oak front door looked sturdy enough to keep out a gang of orcs if it came to it.

She skidded to a stop outside the townhouse and dismounted her D-Wheel, tearing off her helmet in a furious gesture and slamming it down onto the console as she began wheeling it into the garage to the side of the townhouse, pausing only to run forwards and open the massive grey painted door of the garage.

Within the garage were two other D-Wheels. One was Paolo's, a crimson red model with black scorpion emblems painted on the sides.

The other belonged to the third Rome Shadowchaser. This D-Wheel was plain white, with pale blue snowflakes painted onto it and icicle like spikes on the wheel hubs. 

Joelle carefully leaned her D-Wheel against a stand in the garage before closing the door with a touch of a button and walking through the discreet oak door into the townhouse.

She entered a kitchen, the floor tiled with white and black, the walls tiled exactly the same. Gleaming black worktops were the norm, and all the appliances were black too. She briskly walked through the kitchen and into the main room of the townhouse, what was usually referred to as the 'operations room.'

The operations room had, at one time, been a regular dining room. It was now effectively a military standard briefing room. There were no windows, just electric lights and a few mirrors decorated the red painted walls. Three hooks were mounted by the door, two of them holding swords similar in design to Joelle's own.

The room was mainly occupied by a table, a long oak affair carrying two laptops, a bowl of fruit, jugs of water with glasses and, finally, a very important item indeed, a grey diamond. This diamond was important for a single reason, it was a magical relic of immense power, being examined by the Shadowchasers. It was essentially on loan from a museum, following the discovery of immense dark power stored within.

Of course, on loan had different meanings for the museum curator and Joelle. The curator planned on getting his gem back without any alterations, while Joelle and her team were more interested with containing or removing the dark power so some Shadow willing to hit the effort of stealing the thing couldn't accidentally call up a demon or something.

Sitting on a chair with his folded arms leaning on the table was Paolo. He sat back in the chair as she entered, gazing at her before throwing a glance to 'the kid' who was sitting in another chair to his right.

Joelle looked at 'the kid' with interest. He looked a few years younger than either of the two Shadowchasers, maybe around the third Shadowchaser's age. She noted the jagged scar on his cheek that had caused those two Shadows such a problem.

She also noticed how he looked at her, eyes demanding to know the truth of this newly unveiled piece of the world.

"Who are you?" she asked as he asked the same question.

"Edward Cole," he replied.

"Joelle Fernandez," she answered.

"That was... awkward," Paolo commented with a smile.

"Do you have time to explain this to me now?" Edward asked, keeping his eyes fixed on Joelle.

"Yes, I do. The question is, do you really want to know?"

"Don't give me that _Matrix _crap, Joelle. I want to know why I just dueled an elf and nearly got killed by a dwarf. I don't care what the answer is; even if it turns out I'm just in a massive dream."

"He's got some guts, hasn't he?" Paolo chuckled "well, explain away, Joelle."

"Fine," she growled, taking a seat opposite Edward and laying her sword on the table "you want to know the truth? Then I'll tell you."

"Tell me, did you ever think maybe the monsters of myth weren't myth at all? Well, that's true. Dwarves, elves, minotaurs, fairies, pixies, all such magical and mythical creatures, they really exist in this world. Those who know this call them Shadowkind, or simply Shadows."

"Then why doesn't anyone notice this?"

"Ah, the obvious question," Joelle said "it's not so simple. Before today, whenever you were near Alicia, the elf, did you ever notice she had pointed ears, or was too beautiful to be human? I'm guessing not. The fact is, most people could walk through a room full of Shadows and see normal, everyday people. If you look at the world today, the culture, you'll understand why. People have occupied minds, full up with fashion, celebrities, news, day-to-day concerns... and all of that junk is precisely why. It's like their brains just work in a way that can't deal with legendary beings and just substitutes in everyday stuff instead."

"But, some of us are different. Some of us are able to see Shadows for what they are. We divide people into three categories... Mundanes, who can't see Shadows and are unaware of their existence..., Sensitives who can't directly see Shadows, but can somehow sense them and can see a Shadow's true form if they look through the corner of their eye. Finally, there are Awares like you and I, who can't be fooled. We see Shadows as they are."

"How do you... I dunno, get Aware?"

"To be honest, it's not so much gaining it as getting it back. Most kids, you ever notice how kids come out with wild stories about monsters in the closet or under the bed?"

"Kids are Aware?"

"Yeah, most are Sensitive, but a couple are Aware. Basically, they see Shadows, but if they tell their parents what happens?"

"The parents can't see the Shadows and tell the kids they're imagining it?"

"Precisely," Joelle said "because the notion of imagination is drummed into kid's heads, they start to believe the lie and when they become Mundane, usually around puberty, they don't notice the change, because by then the concerns of real life start to take over. I find it rather sad, actually. But some of us either never stop seeing Shadows, or start seeing them again. No one knows how, or why... but I did hear about a guy in Neo Domino City called Shichiro. Any idea what Shichiro means?"

"Doesn't that mean Seventh Son?"

"Hey, don't look so worried," Paolo cut in "you're right. This Shichiro guy is a seventh son of a seventh son. He isn't a wizard, but he's certainly Aware."

"Don't interrupt," Joelle snapped "but anyway, Shadows fit into human society very well, actually. Why shouldn't they? They look human to most people and most Shadows have abilities that make them more skilled in tasks than humans. Some Shadows get quite powerful in society actually. It's not unknown for Shadows to be high-ups in human churches, or high-ranking politicians. But most don't actually try to reach the top of society, because they know they shouldn't be in real power over a nation they technically aren't a native to."

"But there are Shadows without that much conscience... those more than willing to use their abilities for crime... and for those Shadows, there is but one opposition... us. The Shadowchasers. We're the law on Shadows, protecting humans from Shadows and vice versa."

"Ah, here's the good bit," Paolo said with a smile.

"The Shadowchasers are a worldwide organization whose purpose is to keep Shadows in check. To do so, our leader forged a Treaty with the Shadows, a long treaty to define the rights of Shadows in this world. You see, Shadows don't belong here. They come from another world, but something keeps sending them to this world. No one knows how or why it happens, it just does. But Shadows living in this world have to be kept within restrictions, because humanity deserves a chance too. For that purpose, Shadowchasers exist."

"I said about the Treaty. It was originally drawn up by the leader of the Shadowchasers, a man named Jalal, and a chosen Shadowkind representative, a member of an immortal race named Incantifers. The Treaty is very long, but the essential points are easy to point out. Shadows gain the rights to practice their own religions and culture, provided no one is harmed by either. They also gain the right of immunity from any legal system except the Shadowchasers."

"But... how does that work then? Surely one group can't keep all of these mythical beings in check, even if they can see them and know they exist?"

"You'd be surprised by just exactly how many tricks Shadowchasers have up their sleeves... besides, very few Shadows would ever defy the Treaty. Most are happy with it and consider it a fair deal. We only exist to deal with those who aren't so welcoming of rules. Most of those are just weirdos from within Shadowkind groups who think differently, although several Shadowkind races are actually declared outlaws for crimes too terrible to ever forgive, or they simply never agreed to the terms of the treaty in the first place."

"But the Treaty had one gaping flaw in it when it was first written... any arrested Shadow had to be arrested after losing a fair contest. The obvious problem is right there, that dozens said they'd been caught unfairly... it caused massive legal headaches and it didn't stop. It was almost a get out of jail free card, or that was how they treated it."

"How'd it end then?"

"Pegasus invented Duel Monsters. That decided it for Jalal. Every so often, there are meetings where Jalal meets with Shadowkind to discuss alterations to the Treaty according to new developments that create new crimes and such. Anyway, that time, Jalal suggested enforcing Duel Monsters as the fair contest. It was an instant hit. Say you met someone you'd never met before and the two of you dueled. You wouldn't know each other's decks and therefore it would be completely fair. Every duel has some margin of luck... even a tournament level deck like Tele-DAD or Lightsworns can crippled by bad luck. It's impossible for the game to be unfair."

"So, you duel to sort out crimes? Even if the Shadow murdered someone?"

"That's the general idea," Joelle said "but some Shadows can't duel. They're just not smart enough to get to grips with it... under those circumstances; we put away the Duel Disks and turn to real weapons, like these swords. We're authorised to put aside the terms of the Treaty if the Shadow refuses to do so. Basically, there are two conditions that would allow us to use force to make an arrest, either our target breaks the Treaty, or isn't covered by it in the first place."

"So, that's why Alicia wanted to duel me," Edward said "she thought I was a Shadowchaser."

"Apparently. You see, all Shadowchasers have a mark on their cheek, which looks like that cut on your cheek. It's like a badge of office. It also has the added benefit of looking like those stupid criminal markers Rex Godwin's group came up with to track criminals. You see, marked people tend to be respected or feared. If we look like we have marks, we can intimidate people into giving us information should that become necessary."

"But it isn't just the mark that identifies a Shadowchaser... it's this too." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Jalal the Dragonborn card "remember I mentioned Jalal? Whenever someone becomes a Shadowchaser, he gives them a copy of this card. It's more than just a Synchro Monster... it's a reminder of our way of life. There are words written on the back of this card only its owner can see."

"Can I hear them?"

"Sure." She looked at the back of the card.

"_The card you hold is your bond to the path you walk, and the cause you have pledged to. Use it for no purpose except in the service of that cause. Ignorance is not bliss, but knowledge is not power." _She looked at him "Shadowchasers are forbidden to use Jalal the Dragonborn except for their duties as a Shadowchaser. In addition, we're required to carry this card in our Extra Decks, regardless of whether we can summon it or not. Even if I ran an Anti-Special Summon Deck, or a Koa'ki Meiru Deck, or had no Tuners in my deck at all, I'd still be required to carry this card with me. It's a symbol of the path I chose to take in life, and I assure you that I earned it."

"Alright, I get that, pretty much," Edward said "but can I ask you, what about me?" She placed Jalal the Dragonborn face-down on the table and looked down at it, mouth framing the words she was reading, words invisible to Edward's eyes.

"You're Aware," she finally said "regardless of whether you want it or not, you can't go back. And what's more, Alicia escaped. She'll be telling every Shadow she knows to watch for you now. That makes you a target for every criminal Shadow in Rome. You won't be safe anymore. From here, you have to make a choice."

"Fine," he replied "just don't hold out a blue pill and a red pill and ask me to take one, okay? I'm not Neo."

"You certainly aren't," she chuckled, showing humour for the first time, before her face became serious again "your choices. First, you can go it alone from here. Return to your job, your life. Go out into that world and know it's changed around you, but accept the change and move on with your life. But I assure you, if you take that path; chances are that you'll be dead in a month. Shadows will be after you, and none of them will hesitate to kill you."

"Secondly, you can learn how to survive. You can take a path where Shadows respect and fear you. You can become one of many, a bringer of justice and a defender of the Mundane world."

"You can become a Shadowchaser like us."

"Just let me say something," Paolo butted in "it's not easy to become a Shadowchaser. The challenges are tough. But in the end, the hard work is the better path."

"You're asking me to make a life-changing decision all at once?" Edward said in stunned disbelief.

"No, I'm not," Joelle replied "go home. Think it over, Edward. Just remember, you aren't safe anymore. That nice, safe world you knew, it's changed. The Shadows are watching for you, and we can't protect you your whole life. Those who walk alone, walk a dangerous path."

"But those who choose to stand beside others stand in safety. We'll protect you if you take this chance and become one of us, a Shadowchaser."

He looked at her.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Yes."

"Do you have the _Matrix _on DVD? I just want to watch a movie and think this over." Joelle sighed.

"I suppose that's okay," she said "Paolo, go set him up with what he needs. I've got a meeting with Jalal in here in five minutes, so take him to the Rec Room." Paolo smiled and led Edward out of the room, leaving Joelle alone. She turned over the Jalal the Dragonborn card and started to think of what she was going to say to her boss...

Elsewhere in town, on the River Tiber, an informant was getting a visit from the third Shadowchaser.

Her name was Jane Rianne. She was a slightly short for her age twenty year old woman, wearing a long crimson trench coat over a pair of worn blue jeans and a black tank top. Her eyes were storm cloud grey and her long hair was dyed ice blue. Her skin was pale from time spent inside perfecting her skills as a Shadowchaser. She had a dark blue Duel Disk with ice blue trim on her left arm.

She was standing by a warehouse and looking down at a new Shadow. This one was short, with black skin and a slightly demonic appearance. It only came up to her shoulders, but she was more than aware of how dangerous this particular Shadow could be.

It was an imp, a form of minor demon. Imps were known to possess rudimentary fire magic and they were also supernaturally strong, to the level of being able to disarm the average man with ease. This specimen wore black cargo pants and a grey sleeveless shirt. To any Mundanes passing, he looked like a lanky, lean teenage boy with matted black hair and olive green eyes.

To Jane, he was a black-skinned, bald demonic creature wearing the same clothes.

"So frankly, Damon, you won't tell me where to find this Alicia character?" she said.

"More than the money's worth."

"Well then, how about a Duel? If I win, you give me her location and accept my price. If you win, I'll give you the money anyway."

"You're gonna lose anyway, Jane!" Damon yelled "so let's throw down!" He activated the black coloured Duel Disk on his left arm as Jane activated her own.

- (Jane 8000LP) (Damon 8000LP) -

"I'll take the first turn!" Damon exclaimed "I summon Dark Lucius LV4 in attack mode!" A grey-skinned demon appeared, red eyes blazing with malice and body covered in plates of bone armour. His talons flexed as he clenched his hands into tight fists and roared (1000/300).

"Next I lay two cards face-down and end my turn." The face-downs appeared.

- (Jane 8000LP) (Damon 8000LP) -

Jane drew _"what's he planning? His Dark Lucius needs to destroy a monster in battle to level up, and there's no point in using Level Up or Level Change, because then his LV6 Dark Lucius doesn't get its effect..." _

"I summon Cold Enchanter in attack mode," she said. A beautiful teenage girl wearing a short pale blue dress and leggings stepped from a portal with a gust of freezing wind, ice blue hair tumbling down her back and a staff tipped with a snowflake in her hands (1600/1200).

"Cold Enchanter, attack his Dark Lucius!" Cold Enchanter launched a gust of freezing wind from her staff...

"I activate Shrink to halve your monster's points!" Damon called. One of his face-downs flipped up and Cold Enchanter shrank to half of her original size (800/1200). Dark Lucius LV4 roared and lunged for her, ripping through her with his talons. She screamed as she shattered and Jane winced as the talons struck her and went straight through her body without causing physical harm.

(_Jane: 7800LP_)

"I end my turn with a face-down," she groaned. It appeared.

- (Jane 7800LP) (Damon 8000LP) -

"I draw," Damon said "now I Tribute my Dark Lucius to activate his ability and evolve him to Dark Lucius LV6!" Dark Lucius LV4 shattered and a new monster appeared in his place. This demon seemed like a more powerful and darker form, now wearing emerald and ruby-studded armour, four curving spikes growing from his back and wielding a glowing purple longsword. His ears had become bat-like, but his eyes still possessed their burning gaze (1700/600).

"_This ought to slow him down," _Jane thought _"Dark Lucius LV6 needs to negate a monster's effect by destroying it in battle before it can evolve... which I need to use. I can't let him get LV8 out." _

"Now I activate a Trap Card called Pure Soul. This forces you to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower effect monster of my choice from your Deck in face-down defence position. The downside is, I need a Dark Lucius on the field to activate Pure Soul, but I don't think that matters." He walked across the field to Jane and removed her Deck from the Duel Disk, going through it and eventually picking a card, which he set on her field. The horizontal card appeared.

"Now, Dark Lucius, attack that face-down!" Damon ordered _"that Skelengel was perfect!" _

Dark Lucius LV6 lunged across the field and slashed through Jane's face-down monster, which became a pair of gloves holding a bow and arrow, a coil of rope, two wings, a pair of sandals and a crown, Skelengel (900/400).

"Normally your card would let you draw a card, but Dark Lucius negates its effect," Damon said with a smirk.

"I play my face-down, Blizzard Strike!" Jane called "this means that while your Lucius and Blizzard Strike are on the field, it cannot be Tributed or attack!"

"WHAT?! NO!"

A blizzard gale blew from the Blizzard Strike card, encasing Dark Lucius in solid ice.

"Damn it, I'll end my turn!" Damon growled.

- (Jane 7800LP) (Damon 8000LP) -

"I draw!" Jane yelled "I summon the Tuner Monster Ice Magician in attack mode!" A handsome teenage boy with ice blue hair and eyes, wearing a robe and cloak of the same colour appeared, clutching a staff exactly the same as Cold Enchanter's as he smiled (1200/1000).

"Next I activate the effect of Ice Magician and discard two cards from my Deck to bring out a Water Attribute monster from my Deck with a Level of two or less, like my Ice Guardian!" A hulking golem made of ice appeared next to Ice Magician, crouching down in defence mode (400/800).

"Now I activate the Spell Card Ice Mirror to bring out another Ice Guardian!" The Spell Card appeared and a second Ice Guardian appeared beside the first (400/800).

"Finally, I Tune my Level three Ice Magician with my two Level two Ice Guardians to Synchro Summon...!" Jane called.

Ice Magician rose into the air alongside his two Guardians, becoming a sphere of orange light that split into three rings. The rings surrounded the Ice Guardians and cut them down to orange frameworks...

Four stars emerged from the frameworks and spun within the rings before a explosion of pale blue light tore through the Synchro Summon, releasing a gale of freezing wind...

"_Chilling spirits of the Far North, descend into this warm world to freeze the air itself! Become the hammer blow of pure freezing ice! Synchro Summon! Awaken, Ice Wyrm Mjollnir!" _Jane chanted, raising her arms.

The beast emerging from the Synchro Summon was a true monster, a dragon made from ice. It had thick, strong limbs, immense wings that kicked up gales of arctic cold as they moved, a massive tail ending in a hammer head of ice and a head like a spear tip, narrowing to the solid point of the creature's snout. It unleashed a gale of chilling air as it roared, spreading out wings to their fullest extent (2400/1900).

"If you can tell me the significance of the word Mjollnir, I'll give you the money now," Jane chuckled.

"Err..."

"That's a no, then," Jane said "well, Mjollnir is the war hammer of the Norse god Thor. It was said then when Thor threw Mjollnir, it could never fail to hit its mark and return to his hand. He also used Mjollnir to break the ice of winter and usher in spring, but I don't think the card designers paid attention to that fact."

"However, an interesting legend of Mjollnir is when Thor lost it when it was stolen by a frost giant. The giant wanted the goddess Freya as a wife, but Freya obviously refused... Thor dressed up as Freya after his father bullied him into it, went to the wedding and got his hammer back, proceeding to smash the skull of every frost giant present."

"I don't care!" Damon shrieked.

"You will when you hear my dragon's effect," Jane said "as Thor would always hit his foes with the thrown Mjollnir; my dragon has an ability to embody that. When it's Synchro Summoned, I'm allowed to destroy monsters on your field whose total attack points are equal to or less than the number of Synchro Material Monsters I used to play Mjollnir times 800. Since I used three, I can destroy monsters with a total of 2400 points. Your Dark Lucius fits that bill easily. Mjollnir, Torment of Niflheim!" Ice Wyrm Mjollnir roared and launched a jet of frost from its mouth, completely encasing Dark Lucius LV6 before a claw strike from Mjollnir shattered the demon. The Blizzard Strike card shattered as well.

"ARRGGHH!" Damon snarled as the frost jet struck him, not causing any damage. Imps utterly hated anything cold. Even an ice cream would give them shivers.

"Y'know, that effect name is interesting too," she replied "you see, Niflheim is one of the nine Norse worlds. Niflheim is supposed to be a frozen waste where sinners are punished for their crimes. It really fits a dragon of ice, doesn't it? Mjollnir, attack him directly with Thor's Judgment!" Ice Wyrm Mjollnir launched another jet of ice from its mouth, catching Damon and chilling him to the bone.

(_Damon: 5600LP_)

"Now I end my turn."

- (Jane 7800LP) (Damon 5600LP) -

"I draw!" Damon snarled "I activate Foolish Burial, allowing me to send a monster from my Deck to my Graveyard, like a second Dark Lucius LV4!" He slotted the card from his Deck into his Graveyard.

"Next I remove from play all three of my Dark Lucius monsters in my Graveyard to Special Summon..." Shadows of the three monsters appeared, melding into a portal of darkness on the ground.

A blue skinned humanoid, with a bald head, wearing dark metal armour on its upper torso, right shoulder, left elbow and purple armour on its legs rose from the portal. The creature was cradling a shattered baby doll in its arms, a look of hatred in the Fiend's eyes (2200/2800).

"Dark Necrofear!" Damon roared. The Fiend snarled at Jane as it drew its baby doll close to its chest and knelt into defence mode. "Next I lay one card face-down and end my turn."

- (Jane 7800LP) (Damon 5600LP) -

"My move!" Jane called as she drew "I equip Mjollnir with Crown of Command, meaning that any monster that battles it loses 500 attack and defence!" A crown of icicles appeared on Mjollnir's head and it roared "Mjollnir, attack Dark Necrofear with Thor's Judgment!" The ice dragon unleashed another jet of frost as Dark Necrofear glowed with crimson energy (1700/2300). The frost jet struck the Fiend and it shrieked before it shattered, doll falling to the ground and shattering into a million pieces before vanishing.

"I'll end there with a face-down," Jane said. Suddenly, a shadow of Dark Necrofear appeared over Mjollnir and let out a chilling shriek. The dragon's eyes glowed with darkness and it glided over to Damon's field.

"When Dark Necrofear is destroyed, it's treated as an Equip Card that lets me take control of one of your monsters!" Damon laughed. Jane glared at him.

- (Jane 7800LP) (Damon 5600LP) -

Damon drew with a smirk. He could already feel those plain, fresh euro notes rolling through his fingers.

"I activate my Trap, Demonic Devastation!" he called "while it remains in play, any Battle Damage you take other than damage from Direct Attacks is doubled!" Jane grimaced.

"Next I play Soul Shadow, giving you two Hellish Soul Tokens at the cost of giving me two more cards." He drew and two black balls of flame with fierce crimson eyes appeared on Jane's field (500/500x2). "Mjollnir, give her a taste of the cold! Thor's Judgment!" Mjollnir roared and launched its familiar frozen jet at one of the Hellish Soul Tokens, shattering it even as Crown of Command reduced its ATK (0/0). Jane screamed as the ice engulfed her.

(_Jane: 3000LP_)

"And I might not know where this thing's name comes from," Damon continued "but I do know that when it destroys a monster in battle, if you control another monster, I can hit that monster with Mjollnir as well! Thor's Judgment!" A second jet of frost was released from the beast's gaping maw and hurled towards the Hellish Soul Token as its ATK decreased (0/0)...

"Go, Trap Card!" Jane called "Absolute Freeze! This card negates the attack and your Dragon cannot attack next turn. The catch is, I can only use it when the same monster attacks more than once!" A flurry of icicles fell from the sky and surrounded Mjollnir, freezing it solid.

"Damn you!" Damon spat "I end my turn!"

- (Jane 3000LP) (Damon 5600LP) -

"I draw," Jane said, doing so "now I sacrifice the Hellish Soul Token to Tribute Summon Mobius the Frost Monarch!" The Token dissolved into golden dust that reformed into a tall, intimidating man wearing polished ice blue armour, with a dark blue cloak billowing out behind him in the chilling wind created by his summon (2400/1000).

"Crap!" Damon shrieked "now you can...!"

"Destroy up to two Spell or Trap cards on the field," Jane finished smoothly "I destroy Demonic Devastation and your Dark Necrofear, seeing as you now treat it as an Equip card." Damon groaned as icicles burst from the ground and impaled the two cards. Ice Wyrm Mjollnir growled and shook its head, returning to Jane's side of the field with a snarl at Damon.

"Next I activate my Field Spell, Umiiruka. This grants all Water monsters 500 more attack, at the cost of 400 defence." The area around them became a calm ocean, with waves occasionally breaking nearby. Mobius (2900/600) and Mjollnir (2900/1500) glowed with pale blue light.

"Mobius, attack him with Frost Lance!" Jane called. Mobius raised his hand and formed a spear of ice from thin air before hurling the weapon at Damon, knocking the imp over onto his backside as the weapon went straight through him.

(_Damon: 2700LP_)

"Mjollnir, Thor's Judgment!" Ice Wyrm Mjollnir reared up and roared, unleashing a jet of pure cold from its jaws as it towered over the screaming Damon.

(_Damon: 0LP_)

- (Jane 3000LP) (Damon 0LP) -

Jane calmly waited for Damon to get up before grabbing a suitcase from on top of a nearby barrel and tossing it to him.

"100 euro," she said calmly "as we agreed. Now, where's that elf?"

"Alright!" Damon squealed "I'll talk! This Alicia chick... I heard some talk a few days back, from some guys working for Big Donny that he'd been gettin' close to some elf babe just like the one you described. From the sound of it, she was kinda desperate for hard cash, so she was goin' around and sellin' herself... y'know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I know. Who's Big Donny?"

"He's some big guy. He's got his own gang... not quite mafia, but gettin' there. They're a tough crew, orcs, lizardmen, coupla elves, dwarf or two, and maybe some minotaurs if my buds aren't lyin'. Donny has one tough gang, I'll give him that. Anyway, back to the elf. Yeah, these two guys, they were orcs, I think, were goin' on about this Alicia chick because apparently Donny was after her. Somethin' 'bout an Assault Mode monster, some Magician. His rarest card, took him six months of beatin' hell outta locals for the damn thing and then this elf goes and nicks it under his nose!"

"Where is Alicia?"

"Not anywhere in Donny's turf, that's for sure," Damon chuckled, slightly more at ease "but she's got some human guy, an Aware, she's been datin' for a bit. He's got an apartment near that nice townhouse you 'chasers have got, so why not go give him a knock? Just make sure the door hasn't been battered in..."

"Why?"

"Donny's crew are rough," the imp snarled "they love making people scream. One time, a bunch of his orcs set about a guy with switchblades just for lookin' at 'em funny. When the cops got to him, he was missing ears, a nose and half his fingers." Jane shuddered. "Donny'll do anythin' to get his Assault Mode card back. It's his rarest and his best, and what Donny likes, Donny keeps. Got that?"

"Yeah," Jane replied "with luck, Donny won't even meet me. Besides, if Alicia did take his card, when she's arrested I'll get it back to him..."

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Card Stats:

Monsters:

Ice Magician

WATER/ Spellcaster/Tuner /Level 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1000

Once per turn, you can discard up to three cards from the top of your Deck and Special Summon a WATER monster from your deck whose Level is equal to the number of cards you discarded. That monster cannot attack or activate its effects during the turn it is summoned by this effect.

*

Ice Guardian

WATER/ Aqua/Effect /Level 2/ATK: 400/DEF: 800

Once per turn, this card cannot be destroyed by battle.

*

Ice Wyrm Mjollnir

WATER/ Dragon/Synchro/Effect /Level 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1900

1 WATER Tuner + 1 or more WATER non-Tuner monsters

When this card is Synchro Summoned, destroy a monster on your opponent's side of the field with an ATK equal to or less than the number of Synchro Material Monsters used to summon this card x 800. Once per turn, when this card destroys a monster by battle, your opponent controls a monster, this card can attack again.

(The above three cards are my own invention and creative credit for them goes to me.)

03

Spells:

Ice Mirror

Normal Spell Card

Image: A black pedestal with a demonic scowl and fierce green eyes in the middle of a whirlpool, with icicles rising up around it.

Activate only by selecting 1 Level 3 or lower WATER monster you control. Special Summon 1 monster with the same name as that monster from your Deck. This turn, that monster cannot attack.

(Ice Mirror is used by Dick Pitt in Episode 27 of 5D's. Creative credit goes to the writers of 5D's.)

03

Crown of Command

Equip Spell Card

Image: A bejeweled crown, with wings masterfully sculpted onto it.

A monster that battles with the equipped monster loses 500 ATK and DEF during the Damage Step only.

(Crown of Command was used by Asuka in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX manga. Creative credit goes to the writers of the manga.)

03

Soul Shadow

Normal Spell Card

Image: A creature reminiscent of a Hollow from _Bleach_ being split in two by a katana. Shadows seem to be spreading around it.

Special Summon two Hellish Soul Tokens (DARK/ Fiend /Level 2/ATK: 500/DEF: 500) to your opponent's side of the field and draw two cards.

(Soul Shadow is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

03

Traps:

Blizzard Strike

Normal Trap Card

Image: Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier breathing a frozen jet into Dark Armed Dragon.

Activate only when a monster you control is destroyed by battle. This card becomes an Equip Card and is equipped to the attacking monster. That monster cannot attack or be Tributed. When this card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster. When the equipped monster is destroyed, destroy this card.

(Blizzard Strike is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

03

Demonic Devastation

Continuous Trap Card

Image: Three monsters shrouded in auras of energy.

As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all Battle Damage taken by your opponent is doubled, excluding Direct Damage.

(Demonic Devastation was first used by Kyosuke Kiryu in Episode 55 of 5D's. Creative credit goes to the writers of 5D's.)

03

Absolute Freeze

Normal Trap Card

Image: A flash-frozen Ruin, Queen of Oblivion encased in a block of ice.

Activate only when your opponent would attack more than once with one monster during the same Battle Phase. Negate the attack and that monster cannot attack until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn.

(Absolute Freeze is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

03

So, following that information on Big Donny and Alicia, what will the Shadowchasers do now? What will Edward's decision be? Just what did Alicia steal from Donny that he wants back so much (well, you can guess if you read Chapter 1)? Well, next time Paolo steps into the spotlight as he goes to apprehend Alicia for her crimes, only to meet one of Donny's 'Enforcers'. Can Paolo overcome this Shadow's fierce strategy, or is he lizard food?

Find out in Chapter 4: Troop Dragon! (And no, no Dragon Shadows! It's just the closest thing I could find!)


	4. Chapter 4: Troop Dragon

Chapter 4: Troop Dragon

"So this Alicia girl is on the run from a gang boss?" Joelle mused. "That explains a lot. We need to get to her before this Donny guy does... Paolo, get over to this apartment and see if she's there." Her fellow Shadowchaser nodded and left the 'operations room'.

"Anything for me?" Jane asked. Joelle nodded.

"Your new cards came, including that special one you sent all the way to Britain for whatever goddamn reason! You're so lucky Jalal pays for our supplies, y'know, or I'd be steadily chewing off your head right now."

"Yeah, yeah," Jane muttered, leaving the room, presumably to look through these new cards.

Joelle sat in silence for a short while before a light shone and a person formed before her. He looked exactly like Jalal the Dragonborn, but depicted in more modern clothing of a plain suit.

"Hello, Joelle," Jalal Stormbringer said calmly. She inclined her head in turn.

"Hello, Jalal," she replied. "We've got a new Aware here." Jalal was barely fazed by this news.

"Do tell me more," he said, crossing his arms...

04

Paolo pulled up his D-Wheel outside a tall apartment block and dismounted it, pulling off his helmet, which was obsidian black marked with crimson scorpion symbols. He calmly slung it into a compartment under the seat and pressed a button on the D-Wheel's console.

"_Disengaging Duel Disk." _With a hiss of steam, his jet-black Duel Disk detached from the D-Wheel and he attached it to his Wrist Dealer gauntlet, removing his Riding Deck and opening his jacket to reveal four deck boxes. Two were marked with the crimson scorpion symbol, and he placed the Deck into one of these before taking his Ground Deck from the other and placing it into the Duel Disk.

The other two deck boxes were marked with crossed sword symbols, the swords wreathed in flames. Paolo glanced at them and a flicker of regret crossed his eyes before he closed the jacket, turning towards the apartment block and briskly strolling towards it.

04

Entering the lobby of the apartment block, Paolo was greeted with a scene of destruction. Something had grabbed the unfortunate receptionist from behind her desk and tossed her across the room into a glass cabinet, the remnants of which lay scattered across the floor. As Paolo stepped further into the room, some of these remnants cracked under his foot. The blue carpet was stained red near the receptionist; she was bleeding from several fairly deep cuts.

The Shadowchaser strode over the receptionist briskly, kneeling down beside and quickly checking over her injuries. Aside from bruises and the cuts, she was fairly alright, and she showed no signs of anything life-threatening. Paolo straightened, placing a hand on the reassuring hilt of his sheathed sword as he walked over to the stairs and began to ascend. He knew the elevator would only draw attention, and besides, he wasn't sure which floor the offender was on.

He briefly realised that he didn't even know if the offender was a Shadow. If not, then he had no power anyway. He would have to rely on regular authorities, which he never liked doing on any account. But somehow, he didn't care. Someone had dared to attack an innocent woman, and he wouldn't stand for that under any circumstances.

He listened carefully as he ascended, a precaution that proved unnecessary as a chilling scream of agony tore through the building. The Shadowchaser turned his cautious steps into a brisk run, emerging onto the next floor. Another scream sounded, accompanied by a muffled thud, quickly leading Paolo to a door. Well, technically a door_way_, as the door was in pieces on the other side of the room.

The victim was obvious, as he was covered in blood. Both his arms and the majority of his fingers were bent at unnatural angles, and blood poured from numerous cuts across his body.

Standing over him was his tormentor. To Paolo, the man was reptilian. He bore a slight resemblance to the monster Gagagigo, but was heavily muscular as opposed to slim, his claws were more pronounced and he wore dark biker leathers. The Duel Disk on his arm looked like it had been involved in a fire at some point, as it appeared charred black.

"You, lizardman!" Paolo ordered. "Leave him alone!" The lizardman hissed and turned, baring his claws. Paolo drew his sword, but the reptilian Shadow just lowered his hands with a chuckle at the sight of the mark on the Shadowchaser's face.

"Well, well," he hissed. "I got myself a Shadowchaser."

"You sure did," Paolo replied. "Step away from that man." A dark hiss came from the lizardman, but he obeyed, stepping to the side.

"I know how you 'chasers like to settle things," he said. "So I guess it's good I came prepared." He activated his Duel Disk.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Paolo replied, activating his own Disk before sheathing his sword. "What's your name?"

"I go by Ray," the lizardman replied with a dark chuckle.

"Well then, Ray," Paolo said. "It's time to Duel!"

_(Paolo 8000LP) (Ray 8000LP)_

"I'll take first turn," Paolo said.

"Where's that logic?" Ray growled.

"In chess, white moves first," Paolo explained. "You're a criminal, so white you aren't. I'm a Shadowchaser, do the math. And while you work on that one, I'll bring out Armageddon Knight!" A burst of darkness exploded into being before him and a dark warrior stepped from it, a black-haired man clad in dark samurai-style leather armour, wielding a long dark broadsword. His lower face was veiled by a blood-red scarf and goggles covered his eyes (1400/1200). "When Armageddon Knight is summoned, I get to take a Dark-Attribute monster from my Deck and send it to the Graveyard, so I think I'll toss out Necro Gardna." The card slid from his Deck, and he calmly slotted into his Graveyard.

"Gee, talk about a game-changing move," Ray muttered.

"While you mock my cards, I think I'll toss down two face-downs," Paolo finished, placing down two face-down cards.

_(Paolo 8000LP) (Ray 8000LP)_

"I draw," Ray snarled. "I summon Atlantean Pikeman!" In a flash of light, a fish-man wielding a massive steel pike appeared (1400/0). Paolo gaped at the monster.

"You're kidding me, right?" he said in disbelief. "Who the hell opens with that thing? But in any case, I activate Hidden Soldiers, letting me bring out a Level Four or below Dark Attribute monster from my hand because you Normal or Flip-Summoned! Let's welcome my good friend, Don Zaloog!" A rough-looking man with shoulder-length silver hair somersaulted onto the field, wearing a sleeveless black vest and leather trousers, a bandolier of pistol ammunition slung across his shoulder. He drew two knives calmly, glaring at Ray with his one good eye (the other was covered by an eyepatch) as he smirked (1400/1500).

"You think you're so clever," Ray muttered, playing a Spell Card. "Try this one. I activate Trap Booster, letting me toss a card from my hand," he placed a copy of Clown Zombie in his Graveyard, "and in exchange, I can activate a Trap Card from my hand, like The League of Uniform Nomenclature! Using this Trap Card I can Special Summon all copies of that Atlantean Pikeman from my Deck!" Two more Pikemen appeared beside the first (1400/0x2).

"Alright, three Level two Normal Monsters," Paolo muttered. "What is this, some sort of warped Swarm Deck?" Ray gave a dark leer.

"You won't be insulting it for long," he said, playing another Spell Card. "I activate Sword of the Soul-Eater!" The pike held by one of his monsters vanished, replaced by a demonic blade adorned with a leering eye on the crossguard, making the Pikeman's eyes glow a dark crimson. "Sword of the Soul-Eater can only be equipped to a Level Three or below Normal Monster on my field, and when it's activated, I give up all other Normal Monsters I control," the other two Pikemen screamed as they were engulfed by dark fire that erupted from the sword, "and the equipped monster gains 1000 points for each monster I gave up!"

The Sword of the Soul-Eater glowed with dark power as the Pikeman wielding it gave a feral roar of bloodlust (3400/0).

"A monster that could beat Kaiba's Dragon out on the first turn..." Paolo said in shock. "Alright, I take it back! This is definitely not a warped Swarm Deck!" Ray smirked.

"Atlantean Pikeman, attack his Knight! Soul-Eater Slash!" The Pikeman gave a howl of bloodlust and charged, but its attack was blocked by a man clad in dark crimson armour, with long white hair and clawed gauntlets. "What?!"

"I activate the effect of Necro Gardna!" Paolo said calmly. "By removing it in my Graveyard from play, I can stop your attack!" Necro Gardna shoved the possessed Pikeman back before vanishing with an inclination of its head to Paolo's Armageddon Knight and Don Zaloog.

"Well... I'll end my turn with this," Ray muttered, placing a card face-down. "And I'll activate Heart of the Underdog." A Continuous Spell also appeared.

_(Paolo 8000LP) (Ray 8000LP)_

"I draw!" Paolo called with a smirk as he saw the card. "Let's welcome a good friend of my Don Zaloog! I sacrifice Armageddon Knight to summon Dark Scorpion – Gorg the Strong!" Armageddon Knight closed his eyes and became a sphere of rainbow aura that reformed into the shape of a hulking, muscular man clad in the same black vest and crimson trousers as Don Zaloog, bald with a long scar running from his forehead, across his right eye and down to his jaw line, wielding a massive steel mace. His right shoulder was tattooed with a black scorpion (1800/1500).

"You're still not gonna do it," Ray laughed.

"I activate The A. Forces, increasing my Warrior-Type monsters' points by 200 for each Warrior or Spellcaster I have out," Paolo said, playing the card. Don Zaloog (1800/1500) and Gorg the Strong (2200/1500) both glowed with energy as the card appeared.

"Seriously, you won't beat my cards," Ray said, somewhat irritated. Paolo played another card.

"I activate Advancing March," he said. "Using this, I can Special Summon a Level Four or below Warrior from my hand, like my Torapart!" A strange monster like some demonic witch puppet appeared, its body ending where its legs should have been at a bizarre black disc, with a reversed form of the same being appeared from the other side (600/600 - 1200/600). _"The most Levels I've got are seven, so I can't get out the big guy... oh well; I can still trash that Pikeman..." _

"Wait, Torapart's a Tuner..." Ray murmured. "Crap..."

"I'm Tuning Torapart to my Gorg the Strong!" Paolo shouted. Torapart cackled as it and Gorg dissolved into seven glowing stars that crashed together in an explosion of black aura...

"_A warrior armoured with loyalty, armed with honour, his resolve strong as steel! Clustering shadows form a ronin sworn to protect! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Determined Daredevil!" _Paolo chanted.

The aura faded away as the Synchro Monster stepped forwards, a grizzled man with a ragged mane of grey hair, clad in a black and green tunic, dun grey trousers covered by black greaves, and plain sandals. With a roared battle cry, he drew a katana and a shorter, cutlass-style blade, a long spear sheathed across his back (2400/2100 - 2800/2100).

"Alright, I was kinda expecting something more impressive than that," Ray chuckled. Paolo smirked.

"I'll have the last laugh," he replied. "When Determined Daredevil battles a stronger monster, he can't be destroyed. But that monster certainly can, and it is! Determined Daredevil, attack his Atlantean Pikeman!"

"_Idiot," _Ray thought. _"I still have my Justi-Break Trap... and when I use it, he'll be left wide-open!" _Determined Daredevil charged for Atlantean Pikeman and Ray's Trap began to lift up, before being forced down by a flicker of shadow. "What?!"

"When a monster summoned using Torapart as Synchro Material attacks, you can't use Traps until the end of the Damage Step!" Paolo explained as Determined Daredevil's katana met the Sword of the Soul-Eater. The ronin winced at the force of the impact, as did Paolo.

(_Paolo 7400LP_)

Then Determined Daredevil swung his second weapon and impaled Atlantean Pikeman, who screamed and shattered. Ray cursed under his breath as the ronin leapt back to Paolo's side.

"I'm guessing that face-down was Justi-Break," Paolo said. "And now it's useless since you don't have a Normal Monster out! Don Zaloog, attack directly!" Don Zaloog somersaulted forwards, slashing Ray with his knives before leaping back.

(_Ray 6200LP_)

"Now Don Zaloog's effect activates since he inflicted Battle Damage. I can either toss a random card from your hand, or toss the top two cards from your Deck. Since there's nothing in your hand, I think I'll go for the latter." Ray cursed as the top two cards of his Deck, Amulet of Ambition and Birthright, slid out and he threw them into his Graveyard with a snarl.

"Are you done?!" he growled. Paolo's second face-down lifted up.

"Let's say no," he replied. "I activate Dark Spirit Art – Greed, and I'll Tribute Don Zaloog, a Dark monster, to draw twice. Normally, you could stop me drawing by revealing a Spell in your hand, but since you don't even _have _a card in your hand, I'm betting you can't exactly stop me." Don Zaloog broke into wisps of shadow that vanished as Paolo drew two cards. "Hey, what do you know? Talk about a lucky draw." He placed a card face-down. "_Now _I'm done."

_(Paolo 7400LP) (Ray 6200LP)_

"I draw!" Ray snapped, smirking as he saw the card. "I activate the effect of Heart of the Underdog, letting me show you this Normal Monster to draw again!" He showed Paolo the Clown Zombie and drew another card. "And again!" This time the monster was something called Apprentice Knight, but the result was the same, another card was drawn.

"Well, not a Normal Monster this time," Ray said with a dark leer. "Instead, this time I got a good friend called Card of Demise, letting me draw until I have five cards in my hand. Except, in five turns I lose all my cards." He drew three more times.

"You know what I'm finding ironic?" Paolo said. "Heart of the Underdog shows some representation of Jonouchi Katsuya, well-known for being a good friend to Yugi Muto, the old King of Games. But now some common thug is using it, when it represents a heroic underdog. There's some real irony."

"You think I give a damn?" Ray laughed. "I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production! This lets me add two Normal Monsters from my Graveyard to my hand!" Two of the Atlantean Pikemen slid from his Graveyard and he placed them in his hand. "Now, Magical Mallet! I can return any number of cards from my hand to my Deck to draw the same number of cards!" He calmly placed both Atlantean Pikemen, Clown Zombie and Apprentice Knight into his Deck before shuffling it and drawing four cards.

"This is getting irritating," Paolo muttered.

"Well then, good Shadowchaser, I'll just end with these," Ray muttered, throwing down two cards, a monster and a Spell/Trap, both of which appeared reversed. "Your move!"

_(Paolo 7400LP) (Ray 6200LP)_

"_That's odd," _Paolo thought as he drew. _"Why is he defending?"_

He smirked as he saw the card. "I activate De-Synchro, splitting Determined Daredevil back into his components!" Determined Daredevil closed his eyes, splitting into seven glowing stars that clustered as groups of two and five. The two stars formed into Torapart (600/600 - 1000/600) and the five created Gorg the Strong (1800/1500 - 2200/1500). "But they won't stay long! I'm Tuning them again!"

Torapart and Gorg dissolved into seven glowing stars once more, but this time when they crashed together there was an explosion of dark power.

"_A traitor born of shadow, knighted with heart of pitch-black, armed with a blade of pure malice! Clustering darkness forms a knight anointed by cruelty! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Mordred the Black Knight!" _

The darkness seemed to coalesce, flowing inward to form a knight clad from head to foot in pitch-black armour. He was eerily silent, wielding a sword that glowed with dark power and a shield adorned with the device of a blood-red dragon (2800/2000 - 3000/2000).

"You really so sure about that whole 'not black' thing?" Ray asked. "Your monsters have all been pretty dark so far." Paolo sighed.

"All my monsters have some form of stain on their honour," he explained. "Take Mordred, for example. He was King Arthur's son, but he was born out of incest for a start. He grew up to be the cruellest and the worst of the Round Table Knights, before eventually making his move when Arthur was in France pursuing Sir Lancelot. Mordred attempted to seize the kingdom for his own, before confronting his father in parley. During the negotiations, a misunderstanding led to full battle, where Mordred struck Arthur down."

"So why use a monster named after him?"

"Because I've done things wrong in my life," Paolo said softly. "I use monsters like Mordred and the Dark Scorpions because I want to redeem myself, and so do they. Now, Mordred, strike down that monster!" Mordred gave a dark roar and charged as Ray's monster appeared, an old woman clad in a dull grey shroud (1000/1000). The Spirit Caller screamed as Mordred's blade cleaved through her, shattering her into shards. "When Mordred destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monster's Level times 200!" Mordred glared at Ray through his helmet, making the lizardman step back in fear.

(_Ray 5600LP_)

"Well, now my Spirit Caller's Flip-Effect activates!" Ray retorted. "I can bring back a Level Three or below Normal Monster from my Graveyard, like Atlantean Pikeman!" The fish-man appeared once more, brandishing his pike (1400/0). "And now I'll bring out some company, with another League of Uniform Nomenclature!" The Trap lifted up and dissolved into the other two Atlantean Pikemen (1400/0x2).

"Y'know, since I told you why I use the cards I do, how about you explain to me why you're using these low-Level Vanillas?" Paolo asked.

"Fine," Ray snarled. "I use them because of my sister, Shadowchaser. You see, last year my parents paid for her to attend the Duel Academy in Neo Domino City, Japan. But when she got there, all she got from her teacher was hell! She was taught by some low-life jerk called Rudolph Heitmann, who took every opportunity to put her down just because she uses low Level monsters! She came home after just a few weeks saying she couldn't take it anymore! So I'm gonna scrape up enough money to go over there and teach Heitmann a lesson he won't forget!"

"So you're fighting to avenge someone you care about..." Paolo murmured. "But you're going about it the wrong way. And I have to bring you down!"

"Try and do that once I really unleash the power of this Deck!" Ray snarled.

"I end my turn," Paolo finished.

_(Paolo 7400LP) (Ray 5600LP_)

"I draw!" Ray snarled. His lips curved into an unpleasant smirk as he saw the card. "Its time you saw my own Dark Warrior, Shadowchaser! I summon the Tuner Monster, _Junk Synchron_!"

"What?" Paolo said sharply. A monster he'd never seen before emerged from a portal of darkness before Ray, a short, squat warrior clad in orange armour plating, steel pistons and machinery under the armour and an engine clamped to its back. A long white scarf was tied around its neck, a ripcord extended from its chestplate and a helmet like a smokestack topped its head. With two blank eyes it stared at Paolo (1300/500).

"When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level Two or below monster from my Graveyard in defence position!" Ray called. "Come back, Clown Zombie!" In a burst of darkness, a grotesque zombie dressed like a clown appeared, its clothes torn and rotted, a scythe gripped in its hands (1350/0). The Zombie crouched down, crossing its scythe over its chest. "Now I activate Thousand Energy, raising the original attack and defence of all Level Two or lower Normal Monsters on my field by 1000!" The three Atlantean Pikemen (2400/1000) and the Clown Zombie (2350/1000) glowed with malevolent energies.

"Okay..." Paolo said.

"Now, I'm Tuning Junk Synchron to my Clown Zombie!" Ray shouted angrily. Junk Synchron pulled his ripcord and soared upwards alongside Clown Zombie, the monsters dissolving into five glowing stars...

"_Armour of scrap, heart of junk, a resolve born from a spirit of trash! A being whose power stems from its allies! Synchro Summon! Come forth... JUNK WARRIOR!" _

Had the Duel taken place a few weeks later, the Synchro Monster that appeared would have been far more recognisable to Paolo, as he would have seen it used by Yusei Fudo in the Fortune Cup on TV. But at that time, the warrior formed of various scrap-metal compacted to form smooth violet armour and a body of steel was alien to him. Junk Synchron's scarf was slung around its neck, crimson lenses formed its eyes and knuckledusters were clutched in its right fist. Junk Warrior gave a roar as it crashed down in front of Ray, rising to its full height with a roar, the golden blades extending from the thrusters forming its shoulders shining in the dim light (2300/1300).

"Okay... I was kinda expecting more than that," Paolo said. Ray gave a dark sneer.

"You want more?" he chuckled. "How about this... when Junk Warrior is Synchro Summoned, it gains attack points equal to the combined attack points of all Level Two and below monsters on my field. _Power of Fellows_!"

"What?!" Paolo shouted as Junk Warrior glowed with power (9500/1300).

"Just look at that," Ray chuckled. "If Heitmann saw this, I'm sure his eyes would pop out of his head. And that's nothing compared to the shock when it attacked... a Level Five monster with more power than the F.G.D... Junk Warrior, kill off Mordred with Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior roared as its thrusters ignited, charging across the room and smashing its fist into Mordred the Black Knight. The fist tore clean through the Synchro Monster, who screamed in agony before shattering as the fist kept going and smashed into Paolo, hurling him out through the doorway and into the opposite wall. He cried out in pain as he hit, crumpling to the floor.

(_Paolo 900LP_)

"Now, Atlantean Pikeman...!" Ray began, but Paolo's face-down lifted up.

"And to... think this... was a bluff..." he groaned. "Warrior's Pride... returns one... Warrior-Type monster destroyed... by battle this turn... back to my field and... it can't be destroyed for... the rest of the turn!" Mordred the Black Knight reappeared with an angry roar (2800/2000 - 3000/2000).

"Alright then, I guess not," Ray muttered. "I'll end my turn."

"That means your Pikemen are destroyed by Thousand Energy!" Paolo said as all three Atlantean Pikemen shattered like glass. "And then your Junk Warrior... hey, why isn't it getting weaker?!"

"Junk Warrior's effect is an Ignition Effect, not Continuous," Ray laughed. "So long as it remains face-up on the field, its points stay high!" Paolo looked up at the towering Synchro thoughtfully as he heard that...

_(Paolo 900LP) (Ray 5600LP)_

"I draw!" Paolo groaned. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot, letting us both draw three times!" They both drew three more cards.

"Now I set a monster face-down and switch Mordred to defence mode." The black knight sheathed his sword and knelt, raising his shield as a reversed card appeared beside him. "And I'll finish with a face-down." The face-down appeared behind his monsters.

_(Paolo 900LP) (Ray 5600LP)_

"I draw," Ray said with a smirk. He had finally gained the edge on this Shadowchaser. "I summon Clown Zombie!" With a cackle, the clown-like undead monster appeared, waving his scythe (1350/0).

"Now, Junk Warrior, take out Mordred the Black Knight with Scrap Fist!" Junk Warrior roared and charged, shattering Mordred with another punch. "Clown Zombie, take out that other monster!" Clown Zombie charged with a cackle, but its scythe was knocked away by the crack of a whip. The monster was revealed as a curvy, busty attractive woman with long brown hair, wearing the sleeveless black vest and red trousers unique to the Dark Scorpions. She cracked a thorny whip as she smirked alluringly, knocking Ray's Clown Zombie back with the weapon (1000/1800 - 1200/1800). The lizardman growled as the backlash hit him.

(_Ray 5150LP_)

"Meet Dark Scorpion – Meanae the Thorn," Paolo chuckled. "And since she dealt Battle Damage, I can activate one of her two effects. I can either add a Dark Scorpion card from my Deck to my hand, or do the same but from my Graveyard. I'll add a card from my Deck." A Spell Card slid from his Deck and he placed it into his hand.

"I end my turn," Ray snapped.

_(Paolo 900LP) (Ray 5150LP) _

"I draw!" Paolo said with a smirk. "I activate Dark Eruption, letting me bring a Dark-Attribute monster with 1500 or less attack points from my Graveyard to my hand. I'll bring back my good friend Don Zaloog!" The monster slid from his Graveyard and he placed it into his hand. "Now I summon Don Zaloog!" The silver-haired bandit appeared with a laugh (1400/1500 - 1800/1500). As he appeared, Meanae the Thorn seemed quite smitten (1400/1800).

"So you brought out her boyfriend," Ray mocked. "So what?"

"This," Paolo said. "If you made one mistake... just one mistake, it was relying on that Clown Zombie. I activate the card Meanae's effect gave me, Dark Scorpion – Tragedy of Love! I can only activate this card while I control Meanae and Don Zaloog, and it lets me send Meanae to the Graveyard to destroy all monsters you control!"

"What?! No!" Ray cried out as the Spell Card appeared, Meanae looking at Don Zaloog sadly as he turned away with a severe smile. Tears brimmed in her eyes, the Dark Scorpion turning to Ray's monsters with sorrow and rage in her eyes. She charged at Junk Warrior and Clown Zombie, striking them with her whip. The weapon curled around her and the two monsters, thorny vines erupted from the ground and coiling tightly around the three monsters. With one last sorrowful glance at Don Zaloog, Meanae shattered, followed by Ray's monsters and finally the vines themselves.

Don Zaloog's points fell (1600/1500). "Now I activate the Spell Card, Monster Reborn! I'm using it to bring back Mordred the Black Knight!" The black-armoured knight appeared once more, raising his sword (2800/2000 - 3200/2000). Don Zaloog glowed with energy again (1800/1500). "And finally, I activate my face-down, Escape from the Dark Dimension! Let's give a warm welcome-back to Necro Gardna, since Escape from the Dark Dimension brings back one of my removed from play Dark-Attribute monsters!"

The crimson-armoured warrior reappeared with a chuckle (600/1300 - 1200/1300). Mordred the Black Knight (3400/2000) and Don Zaloog (2000/1500) glowed with greater power.

"No!" Ray shouted as the three monsters glared death at him.

"Necro Gardna, direct attack!" Paolo ordered. The Gardna charged, punching Ray to the ground. The lizardman hissed.

(_Ray 3950LP_)

"Don Zaloog, direct attack!" Don Zaloog somersaulted and slashed across Ray's chest.

(_Ray 1950LP_)

"Mordred the Black Knight, attack directly to end this!" Paolo finished. The knight roared and charged, cleaving through Ray with his longsword.

_(Paolo 900LP) (Ray 0LP)_

Ray fell to his knees as the card images vanished, Paolo stepping forwards and pulling out the blue gem.

"Shadowchaser... Paolo..." Ray said softly, raising a hand and gently pulling two cards from his Duel Disk's Graveyard slot. "Before you arrest me... take these." Paolo took them, seeing them as the Junk Synchron and Junk Warrior cards. "Give them... back to my sister for me, Paolo. They belong to her in the first place, but she gave them to me after she... came back. And please... don't tell her what I did. It would break her heart."

"I will give them back," Paolo promised. "Just give me the address and I'll go once I've got help for this man." Ray smiled, gently reaching into his pocket and pulling out a notebook and a pen. He scrawled down an address on a sheet of paper, tearing the page from the book and handing it to Paolo, who neatly folded and pocketed it without lowering the gem.

"Tell my sister... I love her," Ray said softly as he vanished in the flash of light from the gem, which Paolo pocketed, placing the two monster cards into his jacket as well...

04

Later that day, Paolo pulled up outside a suburban apartment block on the outskirts of Rome, dismounting his D-Wheel and pulling off his helmet. He checked the address Ray had given him against the building and calmly walked up to it after activating the D-Wheel's security system.

He entered the building and climbed up the stairs within until he came to the right floor, finding the door number and knocking on the correct door. It was answered by a smiling, brunette of a woman wearing a knee-length black dress. Her face fell as she saw Paolo's mark.

"You're a Shadowchaser," she said softly. "What's happened?"

"Is Ray your son?" Paolo asked.

"No," the woman replied. "He's my brother... well, step-brother. Has something happened to him?"

"He, uh, got caught stealing some goods from a warehouse," Paolo lied. "But before I arrested him... he gave me these... he wanted you to have them back." He handed her the Junk Synchron and Junk Warrior cards. "He told me about what happened with that Heitmann guy in Neo Domino... he said he was only doing it to get together enough money to go there and teach Heitmann a lesson." The woman sighed.

"He never learned..." she sighed. "I don't care what Heitmann thinks... not anymore. I'm happy with the cards I use and I don't give a damn if some stuck-up jerk thinks they're trash. After all, any card has potential... and anyone who insults cards by calling them trash doesn't deserve to be called a duelist. That's something I learned from my experiences there."

"That's good," Paolo replied. "Don't let anyone get you down. And, uh, I get the feeling that someday, Heitmann will learn his lesson. There will be someone there to teach him it."

"You're a nice guy, y'know," Ray's sister murmured. "Not like all the horror stories Ray's pals always told about Shadowchasers." Paolo frowned.

"Pals?"

"Yeah, sometime he brought some guys round here and they'd get drunk and start talking about you guys like you were demons out of hell."

"Sounds like Ray is a part of something bigger," Paolo muttered under his breath, noting the fact. "Well... goodbye." He turned to leave.

"Wait," she replied. "These cards... what kind of Deck do you use?" Paolo glanced back.

"Dark-Attribute Warriors," he murmured, aware where this was leading." She held the cards back out to him.

"I want you to have these," she said. "I've already got another set of them, so I don't need these back... and maybe someday they can help you do your duty as a Shadowchaser." He looked at them both.

"Thank you," he murmured. "Goodbye.' She nodded and slowly closed the door, leaving him to walk away...

04

Back at the Shadowchaser townhouse, Edward sat and watched _The Matrix _conclude its credits. But his mind echoed two lines from early on in the film in his head.

"_I can't go back, can I?"_

"_Even if you could... would you want to?" _

He stood up, knowing what his decision was...

04

_**Card Stats:**_

_**Monsters:**_

Determined Daredevil

EARTH/ Warrior/Synchro/Effect /Level 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2100

1 Warrior-Type Tuner + 1 or more Warrior-Type non-Tuner monsters

This card cannot be destroyed in battle with a monster with greater ATK than this card's ATK. A monster that battles with this card is destroyed at the end of the Damage Step.

(Determined Daredevil was first used by Mizoguchi in Episode 93 of 5D's. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of 5D's.)

04

Mordred the Black Knight  
Dark/ Warrior/Synchro/Effect /Level 7/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2000

1 Warrior-Type Tuner + 1 or more Warrior-Type non-Tuner Monsters

When this card destroys an opposing Monster and sends it to the Graveyard, inflict 200 points of direct damage to your opponent for each Level of the destroyed Monster.

(Mordred the Black Knight was created by fellow fanfic author Cyber Commander and used in his fic Shadowchasers. Creative credit for it goes to Cyber Commander, as does thanks for letting me use it.)

04

_**Spells:**_

Trap Booster

Quick-Play Spell Cards

Image: A bear trap being shot forwards by booster rockets.

Discard 1 card. This turn, you can activate 1 Trap Card from your hand.

(Trap Booster was first used by Kaiser Ryo in Episode 57 of GX. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of GX.)

04

Advancing March

Normal Spell Card

Image: Marauding Captain riding a horse and leading an army into battle.

Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Warrior-Type monster from your hand.

(Advancing March was first used by Yusei in Chapter 2 of the 5D's manga. Creative credit goes to the writers of the 5D's manga.)

04

Card of Demise

Normal Spell Card

Image: A Deck of cards getting sliced in half by a guillotine as a man in a green robe looks on in horror.

Draw cards until you have 5 cards in your hand. During your fifth Standby Phase after activation, send all cards in your hand to the Graveyard.

(Card of Demise was first used by Kaiba in Episode 132 of Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters, creative credit for it goes to the writers of the anime.)

04

Spellbook Inside the Pot

Normal Spell Card

Image: Three books flying out of the Pot of Greed.

Both players draw three cards.

(Spellbook Inside the Pot was first used by Judai in the GX manga. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of the GX manga.)

04

Dark Scorpion – Tragedy of Love

Normal Spell Card

Image: Dark Scorpion – Meanae the Thorn clasping her hand around her Dark Scorpion tattoo and crying, surrounded by thorny vines in a dark void.

Activate only while you control a face-up "Don Zaloog" and "Dark Scorpion - Meanae the Thorn". Send 1 "Dark Scorpion - Meanae the Thorn" you control to the Graveyard to destroy all monsters your opponent controls.

(Dark Scorpion – Tragedy of Love was first used by the spirit of Don Zaloog in Episode 39 of GX. Creative credit goes to the writers of GX.)

04

_**Traps:**_

Warrior's Pride

Normal Trap Card

Image: Shield Warrior leaping from an explosion of blinding light in the middle of a field, with numerous splintered and broken swords stuck in the ground around him.

Activate only after a Warrior-Type monster was destroyed by battle. Special Summon that monster. It cannot be destroyed during this turn.

(Warrior's Pride was first used by Yusei in Chapter 1 of the 5D's manga. Creative credit goes to the writers of the 5D's manga.)

04

Sorry this chapter took so long, guys. But it's finally here and Shrouded World is gonna keep going!

Anyway, next time on Shrouded World, Edward formally becomes an apprentice Shadowchaser, but meanwhile Joelle faces off against a dark Shadow with a sinister intent to protect a group of innocents caught in the crossfire! Can she defeat this Shadow's powerful Deck strategy in order to help those innocent people?

To find out, read Chapter 5: Evil Blast!


	5. Chapter 5: Evil Blast

_**Chapter 5: Evil Blast**_

"So you've made your choice," Joelle murmured, looking up at Edward. Jalal stood behind her, arms still crossed, gazing at the potential Shadowchaser with interest.

"Yes," Edward replied. "I want to be a part of this. I want to become a Shadowchaser."

"Well... before you can become a Shadowchaser, there are certain tests," Joelle said calmly. "You will be 'apprenticed' to Paolo or Jane, probably Jane, and you will receive four tests from Jalal, all of which are Duel Monsters-based."

"What do you mean, Duel Monsters-based?"

"I will set specific conditions," Jalal explained. "And you must construct a Deck to those conditions and win a Duel against a criminal Shadow with it. Although, some tests require you to use your own Deck, and it is the opponent's Deck that is the focus of the test."

"So if I pass those tests..." Edward began, Joelle shaking her head.

"If you pass the four tests, then you will have one final test, the nature of which will not be revealed until the time comes for you to attempt it," Jalal said. "If you can pass that final test, then you will become a formal Shadowchaser." Edward nodded.

"I see," he said. "When do I start these tests?"

"I will set them when I think you are ready," Jalal said. "Until then, your mentor will teach you the skills of a Shadowchaser, all that you need to know to do this job..."

05

A short while later, Paolo returned to the townhouse grimly and the Shadowchasers, now including Edward, gathered in the 'operations room'.

"I found a Shadow attacking Alicia's boyfriend," Paolo reported. "A lizardman and I strongly suspect he was a part of Donny's gang. His sister said that he often had other Shadows round her house."

'That doesn't count as conclusive," Joelle said. "We'll need more evidence to make this stick on Donny. Anyway, Edward has made the decision to join us, so, Jane; I want you to act as his mentor."

"Why not me?" Paolo asked.

"Because I don't trust you," Joelle said coolly. "Don't even bother arguing, Paolo. I don't have the time; I'm going out on patrol."

"Patrol?" Edward asked.

"We Shadowchasers make routine patrols of the area to try and intervene in any Shadow-related crimes taking place," Jane explained. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Jane Rianne."

"Edward Cole," he replied, shaking her hand. Joelle sighed under her breath and stood, walking out of the room.

"Dismissed," she said as she stepped out of the doorway into the kitchen. She briskly walked out into the garage, snatching up her helmet from a workbench and her Duel Disk from another. Calmly removing her Ground Deck and placing it in the box on her belt, she attached the Duel Disk to her D-Wheel, pulling her Riding Deck from another box and putting it into place within the Disk.

Pulling on her helmet, she activated the D-Wheel, opening the garage door with a remote pulled from her pocket before revving the engine and driving out at high speed...

05

As Joelle left, Jane settled herself down at the conference table, sorting through her Deck. She was methodically replacing most of the cards with the new ones she had just received, all of which were still ice-themed, but they were primarily of a different style to her other cards in terms of strategy. Reading through them as she placed them in her Deck, Jane immediately began to get a feel for their strategy and how she'd have to use them to be effective.

Finally, she looked at the prize card of the set, the card she'd had sent to Britain. What she hadn't told Joelle was why she'd taken the precautions she had.

"Hey... wasn't that card created by the..." Paolo began. Jane nodded.

"Why do you think I invested in the best protective spells I could?" she asked rhetorically. "I couldn't risk any chance of luring that _thing _back."

"I see your point," Paolo murmured. "Though, y'know, there was only ever really a loose connection between that card and the..."

"Please don't say it," Jane sighed. "Not after what happened the last time it showed up on Earth. Remember what happened to my uncle because of that thing?"

"Ah... yeah. I won't say it. Still, why are you using that card if it belongs to that 'thing'?"

"Because I want to prove I'm not afraid of it," Jane replied quietly. Edward looked at the card.

"I've never seen that before in my life," he murmured.

"There's a good reason for that," Paolo said. "That card was created by one of the many evil entities defeated by Judai Yuki while he was at Duel Academy, hence why Jane just invested god-knows-how-much in protection spells."

"Protection spells? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Kid, you just almost got murdered by an elf and a dwarf,' Paolo laughed. "You're trying to become a part of essentially Interpol for fantasy creatures, and you're questioning the existence of magic? Honestly! How do you think we Shadowchasers do our jobs so well? We don't just have our swords, cards and fearsome reputations; we've got any number of magical items to help out. If the regular police officer carries handcuffs and pepper spray, then we carry the magical equivalents. Except, of course, our arsenal is more widespread. It has to be, because of the variety of Shadows in this world, and each species has different traits and weaknesses."

"Right..." Edward murmured...

05

Joelle rode her D-Wheel through the streets of Rome, keeping a firm gaze on the people around. Everywhere she looked, there were Shadows, be they orcs, dwarves, elves, lizardmen, ophidia (not so many of them), minotaurs or even the occasional more varied and rare Shadow.

As she rode through the streets, she took it all in with a sense of recollection. There was something familiar, something she knew, but at the same time, she was missing the pieces of the puzzle. The name 'Donny' brought something back, a trace of memory...

But she was brutally snapped from her recollection as a D-Wheel engine roared next to her. She glared sideways at the other D-Wheeler, a pale, thin woman clad in a tight, revealing halter top and black jeans. Notably, she wasn't bothering to wear a helmet, revealing her pointed ears, and she had a feral smirk on her face as she glared over at Joelle.

"Dark elf," the Shadowchaser hissed.

If elves are fairly decent, honest Shadowkind, then the reverse is true of their depraved cousins, the dark elves. Dark elves live in societies ruled by woman, where a man's status depends fully on his spouse's ranking in the group. Indeed, a common insult used against a male dark elf is 'you glorified house-husband', a smear guaranteed to incite rage in practically any dark elf male.

The thing about dark elves is their utter refusal to do anything of worth. Dark elves are notorious for some of the most hideous crimes throughout history, be it the worst of all slave trades, the most evil of tortures in Nazi Germany or perhaps even worse acts of cruelty.

"Hey there, Shadowchaser!" the dark elf laughed, ramming her D-Wheel into Joelle's. This was accentuated by the spiked wheels of the D-Wheel, which ripped into Joelle's D-Wheel and forced the Shadowchaser to rapidly pull away before her ride was seriously damaged.

"You just earned yourself an offence!" Joelle shouted. "Assaulting a Shadowchaser!"

"You're gonna have to catch me before you can try your Fair Fight clause, bitch!" the dark elf laughed, revving her D-Wheel's engine and shooting ahead. Joelle swore under her breath and gunned her own D-Wheel's engine. The two ripped through the streets of Rome, leaving the more populous, high-end areas and entering the grittier, dirtier world of the lower-class areas...

Eventually, the dark elf pulled off, crashing through a doorway into an industrial warehouse. Joelle tried to get her bearings with her D-Wheel's GPS system and realised they were quite close to the River Tiber. She skidded the D-Wheel to a stop, dismounting and pulling off her helmet, which she tossed into one of the storage compartments before detaching the Duel Disk, replacing her Riding Deck with her Ground Deck as she stalked up to the warehouse...

05

The wide expanse within was broken up by shattered machinery, crates and various other trivial items. Joelle stalked within this labyrinth of trash carefully, drawing her sword and holding it in a tight grip.

Her senses strained, then she ducked and rolled aside as something flew past where her head had been a moment before. The device clattered to the ground and exploded with pure light.

"It was just an Orb of Illumination," the dark elf said calmly, stepping down a heap of junk distastefully. "And a pretty weak one at that." Joelle glanced around, checking the newly illuminated space. Her eyes narrowed as she saw a group of humans chained up within a pen made of the scrap-metal, of all ages and both genders.

"I presume you're responsible for this," the Shadowchaser snarled, straightening and gesturing at the captives.

"There is a great demand for humans slaves among my kind," the dark elf sneered.

"Too bad, 'cause you just hit a major violation of several sections of the Treaty," Joelle retorted. "And that means, as a Shadowchaser, bringing you in is my mission now." The dark elf laughed.

"You just try," she laughed. "But you'll be in for a real fight of it!" She calmly scooped up a jet-black Duel Disk from the trash heap and fitted it to her arm, placing a Deck from her pocket into the appropriate slot on the Disk and activating it with a nimble touch of a switch.

"What's your name, elf?" Joelle snarled, activating her own Duel Disk.

"Dominia," the dark elf replied with a dark smile.

"Well, I'm Joelle and I'm gonna beat you, Dominia!" Joelle raged, drawing her first five cards as her opponent did the same.

"Y'know, 'chaser, I'll give you a hint about my Deck," Dominia chuckled. "The Romans put slaves in the arena against animals, and that's your clue." Joelle's eyes narrowed.

"_Does that mean Gladiator Beasts?" _she wondered.

_(Joelle 8000LP) (Dominia 8000LP)_

"I shall take the first move!" Dominia laughed, drawing. "I activate the Spell Card, Terraforming, allowing me to add one Field Spell Card from my Deck to my hand!" A card slid out of her Deck, and she was quick to play it. "Now, let us leave this dreary warehouse and enter a realm of true entertainment... welcome to the _Dark Arena_!"

As she placed the card into her Field Slot, the warehouse setting was replaced by what seemed to be a depraved version of the Roman Coliseum, with a domed roof, fiendish skulls forming the gates from which gladiators would emerge, and the stands filled with fiendish spectators.

"Dark Arena?" Joelle wondered.

"You shall see what this Field Spell does, in time," Dominia chuckled. "But until that time comes, let us welcome our first entry into the Arena! I summon Picador Fiend!" With a fiendish whinny, a bizarre Fiend galloped from the tunnel behind her, a skeletal horse with ram's horns, mounted by a leering, winged demon whose body seemed to be made of raw muscle and bone only. A pale white mask covered its face and demonic skulls crowned its shoulders (1600/0).

"Picador..." Joelle mused. A grim idea was beginning to form in her head...

"I shall end my turn with a face-down and my Field Barrier Continuous Spell," Dominia concluded. A face-down appeared, accompanied by a Continuous Spell that seemed to shroud the arena in hazy green light. "While Field Barrier is in play, the current Field Spell cannot be destroyed and another cannot be played."

_(Joelle 8000LP) (Dominia 8000LP)_

"I draw!" Joelle called. "I set a monster face-down!" The reversed card appeared. "And I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Shifting Shadows!" Shadows seemed to swirl around her field as she activated the card. "And to conclude, I place one face-down card!" A reversed card appeared alongside Shifting Shadows.

_(Joelle 8000LP) (Dominia 8000LP) _

The fiendish spectators booed the lack of action as Dominia's turn began.

"I draw," Dominia said calmly. "Do not worry, friends! There will be entertainment aplenty all too soon!" The spectators cheered. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, ridding myself of that face-down!" A tornado erupted around the face-down, sending it spiralling into the air and shattering like glass.

"_So much for Ordeal of a Traveller," _Joelle thought grimly.

"Next I call upon another entry, my Banderillero Fiend!" the dark elf called. Another monster appeared from the dark tunnel, this time a serpentine demon with immense bat-like wings (900/400). "When Banderillero Fiend is Normal Summoned, I can rid myself of a monster on the field! So let us bid farewell to your face-down card!" Banderillero Fiend roared and a hail of javelins ripped from its maw, stabbing into the face-down, which was revealed to be an immense gate with a stone head on top, and its arms wielding a large pole-arm (800/1800). The Golem Sentry shattered, impaled by dozens of javelins.

"Damn," Joelle muttered.

"Since my Banderillero Fiend cannot attack the turn it is summoned, I will instead offer it for the effect of this card, Blood-Binding Arena! Using this, by Tributing a Picador Fiend or Banderillero Fiend I control, I can summon either of the two from my Deck or hand! I shall bid farewell to Banderillero Fiend, and usher in another Picador Fiend!" Banderillero Fiend screamed and shattered in a blaze of dark fire from which a second Picador Fiend galloped (1600/0) with a deathly howl.

"Oh crud!" Joelle snarled as the two Fiends glared at her.

"Picador Fiend, direct attack!" Dominia shouted. The skeletal Fiend screamed, unleashing blasts of dark fire from the skulls upon its shoulders. Joelle cried out in pain as the flames washed over her.

(_Joelle 6400LP_)

"Picador Fiend _dos_, attack directly!" Dominia laughed. The second Picador Fiend repeated the attack, making Joelle scream in agony.

(_Joelle 4800LP_)

"_Dos_..." Joelle groaned. A sudden realization hit her. "This is nothing to do with the gladiators! This is bullfighting!" Dominia gave a wicked smirk.

"So you figured it out," she laughed. "I must admit, I am surprised. You're the first who's managed to make the link." Joelle's eyes clouded over as she thought.

"_If these Fiends are based on bullfighting terms, then logically the strongest of the lot will be the matador. But what form will he take...?" _

The cloudiness faded from her irises and she stood proud and strong, glaring at Dominia. "Well, now I know what your ace ought to be. A matador of some kind, I'm presuming."

"Bravo!" Dominia said mockingly. "Give the dog a bone!" Joelle snarled in rage. "Well, I end my turn there."

_(Joelle 4800LP) (Dominia 8000LP)_

"I draw!" Joelle shouted. "I activate Miracle Rupture, allowing me to send one Rock-Type monster from my Deck to the Graveyard and draw once! I'll toss out my Medusa Worm!" She slid the card ejected from her Deck into her Graveyard and drew once.

"I activate Polymerization, fusing together Big Piece Golem and Medium Piece Golem in my hand to summon Multiple Piece Golem!" A giant, craggy boulder-like monster with a blank face and a bronze-coloured golem shaped like an armoured Roman legionnaire appeared, entering a purple void of energy...

The void faded away to reveal an immense golem made mostly of cinderblock, though its head was carved smoothly from marble and its arms from blocks of granite (2600/1300). "Multiple Piece Golem, attack one of those Picador Fiends!" Multiple Piece Golem reached out and smashed one of the demon horsemen into a pile of crushed bones and flesh with astounding ease. Dominia winced as the backlash struck her.

(_Dominia 7000LP_)

"Now I end my Battle Phase and activate the effect of Multiple Piece Golem!" Joelle called. "If it battled this turn, I can bring it back to the Extra Deck and summon the Fusion Materials from my Graveyard!" Multiple Piece Golem faded away into a burst of white light that faded to reveal Big Piece Golem (2100/0) and Medium Piece Golem (1600/0). "And now that triggers the effect of Medium Piece Golem, since it was summoned while Big Piece Golem is out, I can Special Summon Small Piece Golem from my Deck!"

Big Piece Golem and Medium Piece Golem glowed with energy that faded to reveal a smaller, brown version of Big Piece Golem, with its blue eyes set into a black crevice and a horn made of stones linked together (1100/0). "I sacrifice Small Piece Golem to Set a monster!" Small Piece Golem dissolved into a sphere of rainbow light that reformed into a reversed card. "And I'll end my turn with that!"

_(Joelle 4800LP) (Dominia 7000LP)_

"I draw!" Dominia called. "I activate the Trap Card, Blood-Scar Revival! This allows me to revive a Picador Fiend or Banderillero Fiend that was destroyed by battle!" The card lifted up and exploded into crimson mist, reforming into the destroyed Picador Fiend (1600/0). "And now, Spellbook Inside the Pot! We each draw three times!" The both of them drew three cards. "And now, Card of Demise!" She drew three times.

"Now I activate Foolish Burial, sending Djinn Disserere of Rituals from my Deck to the Graveyard!" A card was ejected from her Deck and she placed it into the Graveyard. "I play Dark World Dealings, forcing us both to draw once and then discard once!" They each drew one card, Joelle bitterly tossing her Sacred Guardian into the Graveyard, while Dominia smirked as she discarded something called Djinn Releaser of Rituals.

"What are you trying to do?" Joelle muttered. "Bore me to death?" Indeed, the demonic crowd were booing at the monotony. They wanted to see blood.

"If you are bored," Dominia laughed. "Then allow me to provide you with entertainment! I activate the Ritual Spell Card, Ritual of the Matador! Using this, I must offer six or more Levels worth of sacrifice to the beast I will now summon!" The Ritual Spell appeared before her. "I will remove from play my Djinns of Rituals from the Graveyard to cover the majority of the cost!" The two monsters were ejected from the Graveyard and she pocketed them, unleashing four glowing stars before the Ritual Spell. "And then I will offer another Banderillero Fiend from my hand to complete the offering!" As she pocketed the card, another two stars appeared, and all six flowed into the Ritual Spell Card, which exploded with dark flames.

Dark fire exploded into being within the tunnel behind her, three fiendish howls of agony filling the Dark Arena before a roar of triumph drowned the screams out. A new monster stalked from the tunnel, a Fiend clad in armour of black bone, crimson leathery wings forming a makeshift cape from wrist to wrist. Hands and feet ended in long, vicious talons, and a circular mouth was set in its chestplate, rimmed with fangs and containing a rotted, decayed skull. Bony spines crowned its back and its helmet bared only its mouth and chin, appearing draconic in shape. The Ritual Monster gave another roar, crouching before Dominia (0/0).

"Behold my champion!" Dominia laughed as the spectators went wild. "The Matador Fiend!"

"_So this is her ace... it may not look strong, but points aren't everything..." _Joelle mused. _"And I still don't know how this Field Spell benefits her..." _

"Matador Fiend, attack her face-down monster!" Dominia commanded. Joelle stared in sheer shock as Matador Fiend charged, forcing her monster to flip up and reveal something like the legendary Sphinx (1700/2400). The Matador's claws struck the Guardian Sphinx and somehow stabbed into it. Joelle's monster shattered like glass as a satisfied Matador Fiend stalked back to Dominia's field.

"But... how...?"

"Matador Fiend cannot be destroyed by battle and I take no battle damage from battles involving it," Dominia explained, "and any monster it battles dies at the end of the Damage Step! Now for my Picadors to strike! While Dark Arena is in play, they can attack directly!" Both Picador Fiends unleashed blasts of flame from their shoulder skulls, engulfing the Shadowchaser and making her scream in agony.

(_Joelle 1600LP_)

The demonic crowd went wild with glee at the sight of the Shadowchaser being steadily worn down. Truthfully, they were neutral, but since Joelle was losing, they turned on her in full fury, booing her with howls and roars of disappointment.

"I shall end this bout there," a satisfied Dominia concluded.

_(Joelle 1600LP) (Dominia 7000LP) _

"I... draw!" Joelle groaned weakly. The constant flurry of Picador Fiend attacks were starting to take a toll on her. But she still managed a smile as she saw the card. "I remove from play Sacred Guardian and Guardian Sphinx in my Graveyard to Special Summon...!" But a burst of shadow from Matador Fiend stopped her from playing the card, despite her already pocketing the other two monsters.

"Because Matador Fiend was Ritual Summoned using Djinn Releaser of Rituals, you cannot Special Summon while it remains in play," Dominia laughed. Joelle swore.

"Then I'll win this another way," she muttered. "Medium Piece Golem, attack a Picador Fiend!" Medium Piece Golem charged, but there was a sudden swirl of shadow and the Picador Fiend had somehow become Matador Fiend. The dark matador elegantly performed a dancer-like evasion of the golem's clumsy fist before impaling it with a flash of talons, shattering the Rock-Type monster into pebbles. "What the hell?!"

"Did you really think it was that simple?" Dominia laughed insanely. "In this Dark Arena, I choose the targets of your attacks and vice-versa. In addition, all face-up monsters simply must attack!" Big Piece Golem was already stumbling towards a Picador Fiend when Matador Fiend flashed into being from a flicker of shadows and ripped the golem apart with two slashes of its claws.

"_She's locked my attacks so easily..." _Joelle thought. _"How can I break this lock...?" _

"Why don't you just give up?!" Dominia laughed. "My Matador Fiend can destroy any of your monsters it chooses with ease! You'll lose soon enough, Shadowchaser!"

"I'm not giving up!" Joelle shouted back. "I'm going to save those people! I can beat that Matador Fiend, Dominia! And I'll end now with a monster and two face-down cards!" The three reversed cards appeared.

_(Joelle 1600LP) (Dominia 7000LP)_

"I draw!" Dominia laughed. One of Joelle's face-downs lifted up.

"I activate Compulsory Evacuation Device, blasting Matador Fiend back to your hand!" she shouted. A strange machine enclosed Matador Fiend...

Then a blast of darkness ripped the machine apart, Matador Fiend roaring in anger as it emerged.

"Nice try!" Dominia laughed. "But Djinn Disserere of Rituals renders my Matador Fiend completely immune to Trap Cards!" Joelle looked at the Fiend in horror and despair.

"_It can't be killed in battle and kills anything that fights it, it stops me Special Summoning AND it's immune to Trap Cards?! How can I beat this thing...?" _

"Time to end this!" Dominia laughed. "Picador Fiend, direct attack!" The Fiend gave a deathly howl and unleashed the jets of flame from its shoulders...

"I activate the Trap Card, Draining Shield!" Joelle shouted. "Your Matador Fiend may be immune to Traps, but those Picadors aren't! Draining Shield negates the attack and adds your monster's attack points onto my Life Points!" She glowed with green energy as the flames were halted by an emerald barrier.

(_Joelle 3200LP_)

"Picador Fiend _dos_, direct attack!" a furious Dominia commanded. Flames howled forth and Joelle screamed as they engulfed her. The crowds cheered wildly.

(_Joelle 1600LP_)

The Shadowchaser fell to one knee, her clothes smoking as Dominia laughed madly.

"Oh, the delicious reversal," the dark elf laughed. "One of the proud, high and mighty Shadowchasers reduced to a helpless cripple before my Matador Fiend! If only my fellow Shadows were here to see this... just how _pathetic _you truly are! Then they might stop grovelling at your feet and accepting that ridiculous Treaty of yours! And most of all, then they might stop worshipping that filthy half-breed you call a leader!"

Something broke inside Joelle at that moment. She stood, fists clenched so tightly her nails opened crimson furrows in her palms, eyes blazing with anger and hate.

"Don't you _dare _call Jalal a _filthy half-breed_!" she snarled in pure anger. "You just crossed the line, bitch!"

"Well, you can't exactly do anything," Dominia retorted. "I'm still way ahead, and my monsters are still gonna crush what's left of your Life Points next turn. Go on; take your last worthless turn."

_(Joelle 1600LP) (Dominia 7000LP)_

"I... _draw_!" Joelle shouted, pulling the card from her Deck. A brief smile flickered across her lips as she saw the card. "I Flip-Summon Morphing Jar!" The black jar with the fiendish face within appeared as the card flipped over (700/600). "Now its Flip-Effect triggers, so we both toss our hands and draw five times!" She tossed the two cards in her hand as Dominia tossed the single card she had, then they both drew five new cards.

"Draw a miracle?" Dominia taunted. Joelle smirked.

"Actually, yes!" she shouted. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying Field Barrier!" The emerald dome was ripped apart by a howling storm. "Now for my own Field Spell, Sacred Defense Barrier!" The Dark Arena crumbled, replaced by an Australian outback view of Ayer's Rock, with white fires encircling them as Joelle placed the card in her Field slot.

"No!" Dominia shouted angrily.

"Now I activate Book of Moon!" Joelle cried. "Normally, I use this on my monsters, but in this case, your Matador is a good target!" The Matador wrapped himself in his wing membranes and vanished, his card flipping face-down. "Now I Tribute Morphing Jar to summon Granmarg the Rock Monarch!"

Dominia screamed in despair as Morphing Jar faded into a rainbow orb, reforming into a towering bronze man, with colossal fists, armour adorned with sapphires and rubies, purple tabards adorning his belt. Granmarg roared as he drew himself to his full fifteen-foot height (2400/1000). "Like all Monarchs, Granmarg has an effect that triggers when he's Tribute Summoned, in this case the ability to destroy any face-down on the field!"

Granmarg the Rock Monarch hammered a fist into the ground and spikes of rock erupted upwards, impaling Matador Fiend's card and shattering it into pixels.

"My Matador Fiend!" Dominia screamed.

"Save it for the judge!" Joelle snarled. "I activate Akashic Record! This Spell lets me draw twice, but if either card has been used already, both are removed from play!" She drew two cards and flashed them to reveal Megarock Dragon and Monster Reborn. "Read it and weep, because they're both new! First up, Monster Reborn to revive a monster I tried to bring out earlier, and I think it wants a word with you! Return, _Gaia Plate the Earth Giant_!"

The ground ripped asunder and a towering, blocky faceless golem climbed from the bowels of the earth with a roar, raising immense fists (2800/1000). "Next, I remove from play all six Rock-Type monsters in my Graveyard to summon _Megarock Dragon_!" With a terrifying roar, the dragon of the earth formed before her (4200/4200).

"You still won't win!" Dominia laughed. She scanned her hand. _"When she fails to win the Duel this turn, I'll use Burial from a Different Dimension to put the Djinns back in my Graveyard, then Preparation of Rites to pull out Ritual of the Matador and Matador Fiend again. Then I can Ritual Summon the Matador with the Djinns in my Graveyard and this Disserere in my hand, play Dark Arena and just bide my time killing her monsters until I draw my last Picador Fiend." _

"Oh, Dominia," Joelle said with mocking sweetness. "While you're busy plotting your comeback, I think you should know that any monster my Gaia Plate battles has its score halved." Dominia looked at the towering giant in horror. She recalculated the scores in her head and came to a certain conclusion instantly.

"Gaia Plate the Earth Giant, attack Picador Fiend!" As Gaia stepped forwards, the ground tore open and gouts of scalding steam engulfed Picador Fiend (800/0). A second later, the titan's fist hammered down and crushed the skeletal demon before smashing into Dominia.

(_Dominia 5000LP_)

"Granmarg, take down the other one!" With a roar, Granmarg the Rock Monarch stormed forwards and hammered the second Picador Fiend into the ground.

(_Dominia 4200LP_)

"Megarock Dragon, show this bitch what happens when you insult Jalal in front of me!" Megarock Dragon roared, unleashing a burst of magma from its jaws. Dominia screamed in agony and fear as the blast engulfed her...

_(Joelle 1600LP) (Dominia 0LP)_

Joelle's three monsters and the Ayer's Rock scenery faded away, leaving them in the dark expanse of the warehouse. Dominia trembled in fear as the Shadowchaser stalked up to her, her eyes still ablaze with rage.

Joelle raised the sapphire gem she had just pulled from her pocket, holding it out towards the dark elf.

"If you really want to insult Jalal," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Then why not insult him to his face? You're under arrest on charges of assaulting a Shadowchaser, kidnapping, kidnapping with intent to create slavery and probably a dozen other charges across the board." The gem shone and Dominia wailed as she vanished...

Joelle pocketed the gem and turned to the people held in the makeshift pen, barely noticing how much her body hurt. The Solid Vision technology of a Duel Disk could be incredibly realistic, and this unfortunately was one of those cases when it came quite a bit too close to reality...

05

Back at the townhouse, Edward was busy sorting through his Deck and preparing to get in some practice. Jane had said she wanted to test his ability at Dueling personally, so he was going to give her everything he had...

05

_**Card Stats:**_

_**Monsters:**_

Picador Fiend

DARK/ Fiend/Effect /Level 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 0

If you control a face-up "Dark Arena", this card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

*

Banderillero Fiend

DARK/ Fiend/Effect /Level 3/ATK: 900/DEF: 400

When this card is Normal Summoned, you can destroy 1 monster on the field. This card cannot attack in the turn it is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned or Special Summoned.

*

Matador Fiend

DARK/ Fiend/Ritual/Effect /Level 6/ATK: 0/DEF: 0

This card can only be Ritual Summoned with the Ritual Spell Card "Ritual of the Matador". This card cannot be destroyed by battle. Any Battle Damage this card's controller takes from a battle involving this card is reduced to 0. Any monster that battles with this card is destroyed at the end of the Damage Step.

(The above three cards were first used by Titan in Episode 41 of GX. Creative credit for them goes to the writers of GX. Picador Fiend's defense points are unknown; here I have put them as zero for ease of use.)

05

_**Spells:**_

Dark Arena

Field Spell Card

Image: A dark arena, with immense spikes of bone ringing the edges and the skulls of fiendish creatures for tunnel entrances.

Both players select the targets of their opponent's attacks. All face-up monsters on the field must attack, if possible.

*

Ritual of the Matador

Ritual Spell Card

Image: A blood-soaked Matador Fiend in the middle of a creature's body, with bone visible in the flesh around it.

This card is used to Ritual Summon "Matador Fiend". You must also offer monsters whose total Levels equal 6 or more from the field or your hand as a Tribute.

(The above two cards were first used by Titan in Episode 41 of GX. Creative credit for them goes to the writers of GX.)

05

Blood-Binding Arena

Quick-Play Spell Card

Image: Matador Fiend, Picador Fiend and Banderillero Fiend standing in Dark Arena, facing Dark Lucius LV6.

Activate only while you control a face-up 'Picador Fiend' or 'Banderillero Fiend'. Tribute 1 'Picador Fiend' or 'Banderillero Fiend' you control and Special Summon 1 'Picador Fiend' or 'Banderillero Fiend' from your Deck or hand.

(Blood-Binding Arena is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

05

Miracle Rupture

Normal Spell Card

Image: Giant Soldier of Stone kneeling with blinding white light shining from a rock-face behind it.

Send 1 Rock-Type monster from your Deck to the Graveyard and draw 1 card.

*

Sacred Defense Barrier

Field Spell Card

Image: A view of Ayer's Rock from the plains below, with white fire engulfing the foreground.

When a Rock-Type Monster is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned or Special Summoned to your side of the field, place 1 Protection Counter on that monster. If a monster with a Protection Counter would be destroyed by battle or a card effect, remove 1 Protection Counter from that monster instead.

(The above two cards were first used by Jim in Episode 140 of GX. Creative credit for them goes to the writers of GX.)

05

Akashic Record

Normal Spell Card

Image: A set of dinosaur bones with electric blue writing shining across them.

Draw 2 cards. If either of the cards drawn has been played during this Duel, they are removed from play.

(Akashic Record was first used by Johan (possessed by Yubel) in Episode 150 of GX. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of GX.)

_**Traps:**_

Blood-Scar Revival

Normal Trap Card

Image: A scarred and bruised Banderillero Fiend surrounded by malevolent aura as it rises to help Picador Fiend fight Dark Lucius LV8.

Activate only when you have a 'Picador Fiend' or 'Banderillero Fiend' in your Graveyard that was destroyed by battle. Special Summon 1 'Picador Fiend' or 'Banderillero Fiend' from your Graveyard that was destroyed by battle.

(Blood-Scar Revival is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

05

Next time on Shrouded World, Edward and Jane face off so our hero's mentor can determine his skills. It's the elemental powers of the Genex against the frozen soul of Jane's new Deck, and it sure won't be a dull Duel! Just how will our hero do against a more experienced duelist, whose dueling skills were honed in the most serious of situations?! Let's see, shall we?

So look out for Chapter 6: Advance Force!


	6. Chapter 6: Advance Force

_**Chapter 6: Advance Force**_

Edward and Jane stood in a wide-empty room floored with laminate. The walls were plain white, and martial arts _gi _were hung up neatly on them, with wooden practice swords propped up against the wall beneath them. Both of them had their Duel Disks on their arms, and Paolo was leaning against the wall behind Edward with his arms crossed.s

"Are you ready for this?" Jane asked. Edward smirked.

"You bet I am," he replied, activating his Disk and drawing five cards. With a smile of her own, Jane did the same. 

_(Edward 8000LP) (Jane 8000LP)_

"Ladies first,' Jane said calmly, drawing a card. "I set a card!" A reversed monster appeared. "And on top of that, I'll activate the Continuous Spell, Water Hazard, and toss out a face-down!" A Continuous Spell and another reversed card appeared. "I'll end with that."

_(Edward 8000LP) (Jane 8000LP)_

"I draw!" Edward called, pulling the card from his Deck. "I summon Genex Worker!" In a flash of energy, a strange bronze Genex something like a humanoid torso, head and arms mounted on an armoured hovercraft appeared before him, the turbines scattered across its body roaring with energy (1200/1200). "Now I Tribute Genex Worker to use its effect and Special Summon any Genex from my hand! Say hello to one of my personal favourites..." Genex Worker exploded in a flash of solar radiance that reformed into a tall, imposing humanoid, "Solar Genex!" The shining golden Genex appeared before him, spreading its thin blade-wings (2500/1500).

"That's one strong monster for your first turn," Jane murmured with a smile.

"Solar Genex, attack her face-down! Shining Burst!" Edward commanded. The radiance around Solar Genex solidified and smashed into Jane's monster as a dozen spears of light. The monster was revealed to be an icy phoenix, with golden armour on its head and claws made of ice (300/500). The monster screamed and shattered as the radiant spears impaled it.

"That was Blizzed, Defender of the Ice Barrier," Jane said calmly. "And when he gets destroyed by battle, I can draw once." She drew a card. "In addition, I activate the Continuous Trap Card, Frost Attrition. This means that during each End Phase, all monsters that aren't Water-Attribute gain an Ice Counter."

"Ice Counter?" Edward wondered as the spears of light faded away, reverting to intangible radiance around Solar Genex. "I end my turn with a face-down." The reversed card appeared, then the Frost Attrition card glowed. A howling blizzard engulfed the field, and when it faded, Solar Genex had a lump of ice frozen to its leg.

_(Edward 8000LP) (Jane 8000LP)_

"I draw," Jane called, taking the card from her Deck. "I activate the effect of Water Hazard. Once per turn, if I don't have any monsters out, I can Special Summon a Level Four or below Water-Attribute monster from my hand, like Cold Enchanter!" The ice sorceress appeared, her coat flapping in a burst of icy wind as she raised her staff (1600/1200). "And Cold Enchanter gains 300 points for each Ice Counter on the field!" Cold Enchanter glowed with icy aura (1900/1200).

"That's still not gonna be enough!" Edward laughed. Jane smirked.

"I activate Cold Enchanter's effect!" she called. "By tossing a card, I can put an Ice Counter on a face-up monster!" She discarded Acolyte of the Ice Barrier and Cold Enchanter's staff flashed with energy. Another lump of ice appeared on Solar Genex, making Cold Enchanter glow (2200/1200). "Now I activate the Field Spell Card, Absolute Zero Barrier! The room around them became shrouded in thick sheets of ice, the ice forming an enclosed arena around them. "With Absolute Zero Barrier in play, monsters lose 500 points for each Ice Counter they have and monsters with Ice Counters can't attack!"

Edward gasped as ice spread across Solar Genex, encasing the monster in a transparent prison (1500/1500). "No! Solar Genex!"

"Since Water Hazard was a Special Summon, I still have this turn's Normal Summon," Jane said, playing a card. "And I use it to play Bushi of the Ice Barrier!" In a flurry of frozen wind, a samurai clad in armour of ice appeared, drawing a frozen katana with a roared battle cry (1800/1500). "Cold Enchanter, destroy Solar Genex!" Cold Enchanter raised her staff and spoke words of power, sending a flurry of ice crystals ripping through Edward's machine, which shattered like glass. The aspiring Shadowchaser cried out as the crystals ripped across him.

(_Edward 7300LP_)

Cold Enchanter blew Edward an apologetic kiss as the glow around her faded away (1600/1200).

Her master was less apologetic. "Bushi of the Ice Barrier, direct attack!" The ice samurai roared a battle cry and charged, slashing across Edward with his katana.

(_Edward 5500LP_)

"I end my turn with a face-down card," Jane finished.

_(Edward 5500LP) (Jane 8000LP)_

"I draw!" Edward called. "Now I activate my face-down card, Cyber Replacement. This Quick-Play Spell lets me remove any Machine in my Graveyard from play," he pocketed Genex Worker, "and Special Summon another of the same Level from my Deck. I summon Genex Controller!" In a flash of power, a small, cute looking robot primarily formed of a large face, with small, spindly limbs and light-bulbs shining on the sides of its head appeared (1400/1200).

"Genex Controller... the core connecting your Genex together..." Jane mused.

"That's right," Edward said with a smile. "Since you still have Frost Attrition, I'm pretty limited right now. But fortunately, I do have this! I summon Genex Undine!" A jellyfish-like monster appeared, its body seemingly made of glass containing water, wires and cables running across its surface. A pale blue face was set in its glass head, with fish-like features (1200/600). "And now, I'm Tuning Genex Controller to Genex Undine to Synchro Summon...!"

Genex Controller shone with a halo of potential as it and Undine faded into six glowing stars that crashed together in a burst of sapphire power.

"_From a core of shadow springs a warrior of the tides! Clustering tides form a power to rejuvenate the world! Synchro Summon! Surge, Hydro Genex!" _

A monster something like an upgraded form of Genex Undine appeared, its glass body armoured with dark blue plating and wing-like panels of armour extending out from behind it. It wielded a spear with a blade of pure water, which it spun in its grip as it landed neatly before Edward (2300/1800).

"One of the elemental Synchros... the trademarks of your monsters," Jane said. "Let's see what you do with it, shall we?"

"With pleasure!" Edward called. "But first, I activate Machine Assembly Line!" The Absolute Zero Barrier was suddenly filled by conveyor belts carrying scrap metal into great furnaces and reconstruction machines. "In Machine Assembly Line, all Machines gain 200 attack points!" Hydro Genex glowed with energy (2500/1800). "Now on top of that, I equip Hydro Genex with Break Draw, so when it trashes a monster, I can draw once!" Hydro Genex's spear glowed with golden energy.

"That's an impressive combination,' Jane said. 'Now, hit me with it."

"As you wish!" Edward laughed. "Hydro Genex, attack her Cold Enchanter with Tidal Lance!" The machine rushed forwards, extending its spear. With a twist of the handle, the blade of pressurized water extended and was stabbed into Cold Enchanter, making the girl scream in agony as she weakly clutched at the blade stabbed through her. With one last agonized gasp, she shattered like glass. Then Jane winced as the spear swung into her torso before Hydro Genex leapt back to Edward's side.

(_Jane 7100LP_)

"Now I get two benefits," Edward said. "Firstly, Break Draw activates." The golden aura shone around Hydro Genex as its controller drew once. "And secondly, when Hydro Genex trashes a monster, I get back points equal to the destroyed monster's attack score!" Hydro Genex raised its spear, raining water down on Edward, who glowed with sapphire energy.

(_Edward 7100LP_)

"Now we're on par again," Jane mused. "You are pretty good at this... but I have to be certain."

"Then I'll make you sure," Edward said calmly, placing a card face-down. "Turn end." The howling blizzard of Frost Attrition engulfed the field once again.

_(Edward 7100LP) (Jane 7100LP)_

"I draw," Jane said calmly. _"Freezing of God can't work... it's time to cut my losses." _

"I activate Blasting Vein, sending my face-down to the Graveyard to draw twice!" she called. The face-down card shattered and she drew two cards. "Now I switch Bushi to defence mode." The Bushi of the Ice Barrier knelt and sheathed blade before shattering. "When Bushi of the Ice Barrier tries to defend, he gets destroyed and I can draw a card!" She drew once more.

"So you got three new cards," Edward said. "My Hydro Genex is immune to Frost Attrition, and I don't see how you can get at me without destroying it."

"You need to start expanding your horizons a little," Jane retorted as she played a Spell Card. "I activate Icicle Sacrifice! In exchange for blocking off one of my monster zones for the rest of the Duel, I get an Icicle Token!" A space in front of her froze over, and then a large pillar of ice flashed into being (0/0)

"That's not going to protect you!" Edward laughed.

"I'm not defending; I'm going on the offensive!" Jane retorted. "My Icicle Token counts as two Tributes for a Tribute Summon, so I'll banish it from the game to summon one of my new aces!" The pillar of ice fractured and broke in an explosion of icy energy. "Come forth, _Ice Master_!"

The energy faded to reveal one of those monsters modelled on a real person. In this case, Jane's monster resembled one of Judai Yuki's friends, the Obelisk Blue student Asuka Tenjouin, clad in a regal robe of pale blue and white, wearing a crown of jagged icicles and wielding a staff of pure ice, crowned by a large snowflake symbol. With eerie silence, the Ice Master glided forwards to stand before her controller (2500/2000).

"Her points are exactly the same as my Hydro Genex's!" Edward pointed out.

"Then I'll remedy that now!" Jane retorted. "Once per turn, Ice Master can place an Ice Counter on any face-up monster!" Ice Master raised her staff, casting a burst of chilling wind that froze a lump of ice to Hydro Genex's leg. The Synchro gave a mechanical groan (2000/1800). "Now, Ice Master, destroy his Hydro Genex with Blizzard Flurry!" Ice Master raised her staff again, unleashing a rain of icicles towards Hydro Genex. The Synchro gave a mechanical scream as it was impaled, falling to its knees and shattering like glass.

(_Edward 6600LP_)

"Damn..." Edward muttered as he stood, wincing as the movement sent pain through him.

"I'll end my turn with a face-down card," Jane concluded. The reversed card appeared behind Ice Master.

_(Edward 6600LP) (Jane 7100LP)_

"I draw!" Edward yelled. "I activate the Trap Card, Synchro Spirits! By removing Hydro Genex in my Graveyard from the game, I can recover the Synchro Materials!" Genex Controller (1400/1200) and Genex Undine (1200/600) both appeared in flashes of light as Edward pocketed Hydro Genex.

"Next I Tribute Genex Undine to welcome Genex Heat to the game!" Genex Undine dissolved into rainbow light and reformed into a jet-black industrial furnace, with large arms and legs, a single glowing light serving as an eye (2000/1300). "And let's do this once more! I Tune my Level Three Genex Controller and my Level Five Genex Heat, to Synchro Summon...!"

Genex Controller glowed with its aura of potential once again, both monsters fading into eight glowing stars that crashed together in an explosion of flame...

"_From a core of shadow awakens a flame that burns eternally! Clustering sparks form a flame to empower our world! Synchro Summon! Burn, Thermal Genex!" _

With a roar like a volcanic eruption, the flames were broken into embers as a new Synchro emerged. Thermal Genex, like Hydro Genex, appeared to be an advanced version of its non-Tuner, in this case looking like a futuristic version of Genex Heat, pale blue flames burning within its body, flamethrowers capping its arms and a helmet-like head with two baleful eyes. With another intense roar, Thermal Genex stormed forwards (2400/1200 - 2600/1200).

"Thermal Genex gains 200 points for every Fire-Attribute monster in my Graveyard!" Edward called. Thermal Genex glowed with energy (2800/1600). "Now, Thermal Genex, attack Ice Master! Eternal Flare!" Thermal Genex roared, unleashing a storm of fire across the field towards Jane's monster.

"I activate the Trap Card, Freezing Boundary!" Jane retorted. "Freezing Boundary reduces your monster's points to zero, negates its effect and stops it from changing battle positions!" Thermal Genex was engulfed in a storm of ice, freezing solid in an instant (0/1600).

"I end my turn," Edward muttered. The ice storm of Frost Attrition erupted, freezing an Ice Counter onto Thermal Genex.

_(Edward 6600LP) (Jane 7100LP)_

"I draw,' Jane said calmly. "I summon Blizzard Warrior!" In a flash of ice, a warrior clad in flared armour of pure ice appeared, wielding a dual-bladed lance made of ice and wearing a dark blue cape. His helm bore three decorative spikes of ice and his armour was trimmed in gold (1400/400). "Blizzard Warrior, put his Thermal Genex on ice!" The icy warrior charged with a roar, stabbing through Thermal Genex with his lance. The fiery Synchro shattered in a flash of fire and Blizzard Warrior stopped, pointing his lance at Edward.

(_Edward 5200LP_)

"When Blizzard Warrior destroys your monster by battle, I look at the top card of your Deck and place it on either the top or the bottom," Jane said. With a grimace, Edward showed her the card, Genex Neutron. "I'll send that to the bottom." Edward slid the card into his Deck on the bottom.

'Damn," he muttered.

"Ice Master, direct attack!" Jane commanded. Ice Master fired her Blizzard Flurry, smashing Edward back into the icy walls of Absolute Zero Barrier.

(_Edward 2700LP_)

"I end my turn with that," Jane finished.

_(Edward 2700LP) (Jane 7100LP) _

"I... _draw_!" Edward shouted. His eyes widened at the sight of the card. "I activate the Spell Card, Scrap Synchron! This lets me remove from play a Machine-Type Synchro in my Graveyard, and then I can activate one of two effects!" He pocketed Thermal Genex. "Now I can either gain 300 points times its Level, or draw a card for every three Levels it has. At this stage, I need the cards more." He drew twice. "I summon Genex Gaia!" Another Genex appeared, this one seemingly made of rock fused to its metal body, its left arm a jackhammer and the other wielding a pickaxe (1000/1900). 'Now I activate the last effect of Machine Assembly Line. Every time a Machine on the field got destroyed, my Assembly Line got two Junk Counters, and at the moment it has four. Now by sending it to the Graveyard, I can recover a Machine from my Graveyard with a Level equal to or less than the number of Junk Counters that were on it!" The Assembly Line vanished and Genex Controller reappeared (1400/1200).

"Another Genex Synchro Summon, I presume?" Jane said.

"You bet! Now, tuning Genex Controller and Genex Gaia...!"

For the third time Genex Controller glowed with power as it and Genex Gaia faded into six glowing stars that crashed together and exploded with black energy...

"_From a core of shadow a titan of the earth itself now forms! Clustering powers form the Genex drawing power from the very earth! Synchro Summon! Rise, Geo Genex!" _

The third elemental Genex Synchro exploded into being, a bronze golem with magma running over its form, with jackhammers for forearms, its face shaped like an old gas mask and lines of azure light running over its body (1800/2800).

"I was sort of expecting something stronger than that...' Jane mused. 'But then again, I've seen what these Genex are capable of already, so perhaps mocking your monsters is a bad idea."

'You'd be right about that," Edward said, flipping his last card around. "I activate Charge of the Genex, letting me Special Summon a Level Four or below Genex monster from my Deck, but I have to destroy it during the End Phase! Let's welcome Real Genex Ultimam!" In a flash of power, an eight-foot tall golden humanoid Genex appeared, lines of blue energy running across its form to connect to the wheel of blue energy on its back. Its fingers were like claws and its eyes were deep pits of blue power (1800/1400).

'Alright, that still doesn't answer how you plan to deal with Ice Master."

'Does this?" Edward replied, extending a hand towards Geo Genex. "Once per turn when I have a Level Four or below Genex out, I can swap Geo Genex's original point scores until the End Phase!" Jane's eyes widened as Geo Genex glowed with energy (2800/1800). "Geo Genex, destroy Ice Master with Gaia Breaker!" Geo Genex gave a mechanical roar, surging forwards and smashing Ice Master with its jackhammers. The coldly beautiful woman screamed in agony and shattered like glass.

(_Jane 6800LP_)

"Real Genex Ultimam, take down Blizzard Warrior!" Ultimam leapt for the icy warrior and shattered it with a hammer-like blow to the chest before following up with a second punch that sent Jane staggering back.

(_Jane 6400LP_)

"I'll admit, that was a good play,' Jane murmured. "But it won't keep you safe forever."

"It dealt with your Ice Master, didn't it?" Edward retorted.

"Touché."

"In any case, I'll end my turn," Edward concluded. Geo Genex stopped glowing (1800/2800) and Real Genex Ultimam shattered into pixels. "When Real Genex Ultimam on my field is destroyed, I can pull two Genex from my Graveyard back to my Deck!" Genex Controller and Genex Gaia slid from his Graveyard and were shuffled into his Deck.

Then the icy storm of Frost Attrition howled into life, freezing an Ice Counter onto Geo Genex (1300/2800).

_(Edward 2700LP) (Jane 6400LP)_

Jane drew her next card silently. "I activate Card of Demise!" she called, drawing five times. "Now I use the effect of Water Hazard to Special Summon Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier!" In a burst of water, a man clad in a pale grey robe appeared, wielding a dagger made of ice in a snowflake pattern (1300/0).

"And since that was a Special Summon," she pulled another card from her hand, "I can still summon my Strategist of the Ice Barrier!" A tall, silver-haired man in regal blue and dark grey robes appeared before her, wearing a collie hat on his head and a string of beads around his neck. He held a blue fan in his right hand, which he spread elegantly before him (1600/1600).

"Two monsters... but you'll only do 1600 damage," Edward murmured. "Wait, unless..."

"I activate Double Summon!" Jane called. "Now I Tribute my monsters to summon the true queen of ice..." her monsters faded into a sphere of rainbow light that reformed into a regal woman in a pale lilac dress adorned with rubies, wielding a staff of ice crowned by five icicles. A visor of ice covered her eyes, and her hair seemed frozen into a set of icicle-shaped bangs cascading down her back. The woman stepped forwards, taking a soft breath (2900/2100). "I welcome to the field, the _Ice Queen_!"

"Crud..." Edward muttered.

"Ice Queen, trash his Geo Genex! Absolute Zero Burst!" Ice Queen raised her staff, sending a blast of freezing power into Geo Genex, which froze solid and shattered like glass. Edward screamed in pain as the icy attack froze into him, as if he was suffering an instantaneous frostbite across his whole body...

(_Edward 1100LP_)

"I end my turn with a face-down," Jane concluded. The reversed card appeared.

_(Edward 1100LP) (Jane 6400LP)_

"I draw!" Edward shouted angrily. "I activate Card of Demise!" He drew five times. "Now I activate Monster Reborn to bring back my good friend, Geo Genex!" The golem Synchro appeared again (1800/2800). "Now I activate Scroll of Bewitchment, changing its Attribute to Dark!" Geo Genex glowed with an aura of darkness.

"An Attribute change... that means you're gearing up for another Synchro Summon..." Jane murmured.

"Oh yeah!" Edward called, playing another card. "Say hello to Spare Genex!" The ragged, damaged version of Genex Controller appeared before him, gazing at its white flower (800/1200). "Now, Tuning Spare Genex to Geo Genex...!"

Spare Genex's eyes seemed to cloud over as it and Geo Genex faded into nine glowing stars that crashed together in a burst of darkness...

"_Black steel of the world, rise up in my service! Cast down my foe in this battle, and end this game! Synchro Summon! Unleash your power, Real Genex Kurokishian!"_

Real Genex Kurokishian descended from the Synchro Summon with a mechanical roar (2500/2000). "When Real Genex Kurokishian is Synchro Summoned, I can take control of your highest Level monster!" Edward called. Jane didn't react to this, as if she knew something he didn't.

"Trap Card activate, Destruct Potion!" she called. "By destroying one monster I control, I gain Life Points equal to its attack points!" Ice Queen shattered in a blast of energy that enveloped Jane.

(_Jane 9300LP_)

"In addition, when a face-up Ice Queen on my field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard and I have three or more Spellcasters in my Graveyard, I can return any Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand," Jane said. The Icicle Sacrifice card slipped from her Graveyard and into her hand.

"Real Genex Kurokishian, direct attack!" Edward ordered. Kurokishian blasted its plasma cannons, engulfing Jane in white-hot energies.

(_Jane 6800LP_)

"I end my turn with a face-down," Edward finished.

_(Edward 1100LP) (Jane 6800LP)_

"I draw," Jane said softly. "Edward... you've shown me your power... but now for one last test... I activate Icicle Sacrifice again!" Another monster card zone iced over and the pillar of an Icicle Token rose before her (0/0). "You know, Edward, the card I'm about to play is one I had to take incredible measures to make safe. I sent it to the best sorcerer of protective magic in Europe, and he had to perform an incredibly strong magic ritual to cast the necessary protection spells on it. The resources for that ritual cost him thousands of pounds... you wouldn't believe how much convincing Jalal took to help me pay the fee... and even then there were conditions... I must be incredibly careful when I use it... but I'm going to test you with everything I have, so I'll use this as my test Duel..."

"Jane!" Paolo called. "Be careful."

"I will," she said. 'I Tribute the Icicle Token..." the Token exploded in a flash of icy energy as she played the card, "to summon a beast of ice so powerful, it took three nights worth of spellcasting to shackle it to my service... I call forth, _White Night Dragon_!"

A torrent of power exploded forth, coalescing into the shape of what appeared to be the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon. However, as it emerged it became apparent that this was only a counterpart, a barbed, frozen mockery of Kaiba's legendary monster. As it spread its immense wings, White Night Dragon gave a cold, twisted mockery of the divine roar (3000/2500).

"No way..." Edward breathed as he stared up at the monster. "What is that thing?!"

"It's a counterpart," Paolo explained. "It was created by an entity known as the Light of Ruin in mockery of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and given to one of its servants in an attempt to recover a precious item from Judai Yuki. The attempt failed, and the card was lost. One of the Academy students picked it up, and eventually it came into the hands of a card designer at I2, who decided to duplicate it for use by the masses. They turn up occasionally in the hands of various duelists who never realise the danger of using such cards. Luckily for us, Jane knew to take precautions."

"Yes, I made absolutely sure that this card couldn't act as any sort of beacon for the Light of Ruin," Jane said. "The only master it recognises now is me. White Night Dragon, destroy Real Genex Kurokishian with White Ice Lightning!" With another mighty roar, White Night Dragon unleashed a torrent of frozen power from its maw...

"Trap Card activate, Sakuretsu Armour!" Edward shouted. "Now your monster is destroyed!" But he gasped in shock as the Trap froze and shattered.

"Any targeting Spell or Trap trying to hit my White Night Dragon has its activation negated and gets destroyed," Jane explained calmly.

Real Genex Kurokishian struggled against the blast, but was frozen solid and exploded into a deadly rain of fragments that ripped into Edward, sending him skidding back into the walls of Absolute Zero Barrier. He cried out in pain as he was smashed into the ice wall.

(_Edward 600LP_)

"Damn... that hurt," Edward snarled as he stood up.

"Jane...!" Paolo began.

"It's not a Shadow Game!" Jane replied. "If it was, he'd be cut, not bruised." Paolo didn't seem too reassured, but kept quiet anyway as Edward retook his position.

"Turn end," Jane concluded.

_(Edward 600LP) (Jane 6800LP) _

"I... _draw_!" Edward groaned. "I toss out a face-down monster and place a card face-down!" Two reversed cards appeared. "Turn end!"

_(Edward 600LP) (Jane 6800LP)_

"I draw!" Jane called. "I summon Intoxicated Bug of the Ice Barrier!" A bizarre monster like a giant worm encased in ice rose up before her, its ice-encrusted form adorned with spikes and blades. The circular mouth set in its head was ringed by red fangs, the combination of grotesque noise and horrific stench coming off of this maw enough to make Edward gag (1300/1800).

"How can you stand that?" Edward choked.

"Experience," Jane replied grimly. "When my Intoxicated Bug is Normal Summoned, one monster card zone gets iced over and can't be used." One of Edward's unused monster zones was immediately encased in ice.

"Now, White Night Dragon, destroy his face-down! White Ice Lightning!" Her dragon blasted the icy mockery of the White Lightning attack at Edward's face-down, which was revealed as Genex Searcher (1600/400). The monster froze and shattered.

"When Genex Searcher gets totalled, I can bring out a Genex with 1500 or less attack from my Deck in attack mode!" Edward called. Genex Controller (1400/1200) appeared before him in a flash of energy.

"Damn it," Jane muttered. "Turn end." The storm of Frost Attrition erupted, freezing an Ice Counter onto Genex Controller (900/1200).

_(Edward 600LP) (Jane 6800LP)_

"I draw!" Edward shouted, bringing his hand to two cards. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot!" They each drew three times. "Now I summon Genex Blast!" In a burst of wind, a Genex consisting of a turbine for a chest, with thin spindly limbs and a single emerald light for a head appeared (1600/1300). "Now, Tuning Genex Controller to Genex Blast! Fire, Water and Earth, you've seen, now for the last element to show itself!"

For the fourth time Genex Controller glowed with energy as it and Genex Blast faded into seven glowing stars...

"_From a core of shadow rises a master of the storms! Clustering tempests form a Genex borne aloft by the gales! Synchro Summon! Soar, Wind Farm Genex!" _

As with the previous three elemental Synchros, Wind Farm Genex was a larger, more advanced version of its non-Tuner Synchro Material Monster, with a stronger, bigger turbine, thicker limbs and a true head with two baleful emerald eyes (2000/1600). It descended to land before Edward with a mechanical roar.

"Wind Farm Genex gains 300 points for every face-down Spell or Trap in play!" Edward called. Wind Farm Genex glowed with energy (2300/1600).

"It still won't beat my Dragon!" Jane retorted. _"Even if he tries to attack my Intoxicated Bug, I can just use my Dragon's effect to redirect the attack and he'll lose both his Synchro and the Duel." _

'Now I activate the Spell Card, Battle Waltz!" Edward shouted. "Battle Waltz creates a Waltz Token copy of any one Synchro Monster on my field!" A pale blue version of Wind Farm Genex appeared beside the original (2300/1600). "And finally... one question. What Spell Card couldn't a Machine Deck go without?"

Jane's eyes widened in shock. "Limiter Removal!"

"That's right," Edward replied, playing the named card. "Now all my Machines get their points doubled!" Wind Farm Genex (4600/1600) and the Waltz Token (4600/1600) glowed with destructive energy. "Limiter Removal... that's the card that inspired this Deck. Watching Kaiser's Pro Duels inspired me to create a Machine Deck... seeing him use that combo of Power Bond, Limiter Removal and Cyber End Dragon made me want to unleash that sort of power. It was only one inspiration, and nowhere near the biggest inspiration of this Deck, but Kaiser started me on the course to creating this Genex Deck."

"Chances are Kaiser was a cheat, though," Paolo said calmly. "The odds of pulling Power Bond, Limiter Removal and three Cyber Dragons in one opening hand are pretty slim, personally I always thought he stacked his Deck and everyone was too afraid of him to argue."

"Maybe he did cheat," Edward said. "But he was my hero, and to some degree, he still is. Now to end this Duel! Waltz Token, attack her Intoxicated Bug!" The Waltz Token prepared to attack...

"I counter with the effect of White Night Dragon, sending Frost Attrition to the Graveyard to redirect your attack!" Jane shouted. As the card vanished into grains of light, the Waltz Token spun on its heel, sending a blast of wind from its turbine into White Night Dragon and shattering the majestic beast. Edward gave a smirk.

"I hoped you'd do that," he said. "You see, when a Waltz Token battles, neither of us take damage. So in other words, you should have let it destroy your Intoxicated Bug. Wind Farm Genex, attack Intoxicated Bug of the Ice Barrier with Cyclone Burst!" Wind Farm Genex unleashed a mighty attack, copying the actions of the Waltz Token. The Intoxicated Bug gave a hideous scream as the gales picked it up and dashed it apart on the walls of Absolute Zero Barrier. Jane growled in pain as the winds forced her back.

(_Jane 3800LP_)

"I still have Life Points," the female Shadowchaser groaned. "And Limiter Removal destroys your monsters at the end of the turn." Edward shook his head as his face-down lifted up, Wind Farm Genex losing power slightly (4300/1600).

"Trap Card open, _Synchro Overlimit_!" he shouted. "When my Synchro Monster destroys a monster by battle, Synchro Overlimit gives it another attack at the cost of destroying it at the attack's end! Wind Farm Genex, end this Duel! Direct attack!" Wind Farm Genex unleashed its Cyclone Burst, smashing Jane back into the icy faces of the Field Spell and making her scream in pain as she hit...

_(Edward 600LP) (Jane 0LP)_

The cards left on the field faded away to nothing as Jane weakly stood, groaning in pain.

"Talk about an attack," she muttered. Then she smiled. "You are pretty good, kid. But, are you any good at Riding Duels?" Edward smirked.

"You bet," he said. "I've got a D-Wheel back at my apartment, and I've been practicing at Riding Duels for a few months now. Before all this happened... I was planning to hit the Pro Leagues..."

"Kid, let me seriously advise you not to," Paolo replied. "The Pro Leagues are a world of plastic, where everything's mocked up. You'd lose your dignity within a second of a Duel in that place, so seriously, don't bother."

"I agree with that," Joelle added, stepping in from where she had been leaning against the doorway. "Good finisher, kid. There's a lot of potential in that Deck of yours."

"Uh... thanks," Edward said. She simply walked away.

"Paolo, patrol," the Rock user said calmly as she left the room. He sighed.

"Be glad, Edward," Jane said. "That's the closest thing to a compliment you'll get out of Joelle... she's not big on praise..."

"See ya around, kid," Paolo said bitterly as he left the room, going to the garage to get on his D-Wheel and start his patrol...

06

_**Card Stats:**_

_**Monsters:**_

Genex Worker

WIND/ Machine/Effect /Level 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1200

You can Tribute this card to Special Summon 1 "Genex" monster from your hand.

*

Genex Controller

DARK/ Machine/Tuner /Level 3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1200

_A one-of-a-kind __Genex__ that can communicate with its __allies__. It can control the powers of various elements._

*

Genex Undine

WATER/ Aqua/Effect /Level 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 600

When this card is Normal Summoned, you can send 1 WATER monster from your Deck to your Graveyard to add 1 "Genex Controller" from your Deck to your hand.

*

Hydro Genex

WATER/ Machine/Synchro/Effect /Level 6/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1800

'Genex Controller' + 1 or more WATER non-Tuner monsters

If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, gain Life Points equal to the ATK of the destroyed monster.

*

Genex Heat

FIRE/ Pyro/Effect /Level 5/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1300

If you control a face-up "Genex Controller", you can Normal Summon this card without Tributing.

*

Thermal Genex

FIRE/ Machine/Synchro/Effect /Level 8/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1200

'Genex Controller' + 1 or more FIRE non-Tuner monsters

This card gains 200 ATK for each FIRE monster in your Graveyard. If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the number of "Genex" monsters in your Graveyard x 200.

*

Genex Gaia

EARTH/ Rock/Effect /Level 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1900

If this card would be destroyed, you can destroy 1 "Genex Controller" instead.

*

Geo Genex

EARTH/ Machine/Synchro/Effect /Level 6/ATK: 1800/DEF: 2800

'Genex Controller' + 1 or more EARTH non-Tuner monsters

Once per turn, while you control a face-up Level 4 or lower "Genex" monster, you can switch the original ATK and DEF of this card until the End Phase.

*

Real Genex Ultimam

EARTH/ Machine/Effect /Level 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1400

When this face-up card on the field is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you can return 2 "Genex" monsters from your Graveyard to your Deck.

*

Genex Blast

WIND/ Spellcaster/Effect /Level 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1300

When this card is Special Summoned, you can add 1 DARK "Genex" monster from your Deck to your hand.

*

Wind Farm Genex

WIND/ Machine/Synchro/Effect /Level 7/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1600

'Genex Controller' + 1 or more WIND non-Tuner monsters

This card gains 300 ATK for each face-down Spell and Trap Card on the field. You can send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy 1 face-down Spell and Trap Card on the field.

(The Genex monsters were released in the Duel Terminal sets Invasion of Worms, Justice Strikes Back and Demon Roar God Revival, as well as Limited Edition Pack 13, with the spin-off Real Genex released in Duel Terminals – Champion of Chaos and Dragunity of the Hurricane. Some may be released in the TCG in the upcoming sets Hidden Arsenal 2 and some will definitely come out in Duel Terminal 1.)

06

Strategist of the Ice Barrier

WATER/ Spellcaster/Effect /Level 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1600

Once per turn, you can send 1 'Ice Barrier' monster from your hand to the Graveyard and draw 1 card.

*

Intoxicated Bug of the Ice Barrier

WATER/ Insect/Effect /Level 4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1800

When this card is Normal Summoned, select 1 unused Monster Card Zone. While this card is face-up on the field, the selected Monster Card Zone cannot be used.

(The Ice Barrier monsters were released in the Duel Terminal sets Synchro Awakening, Invasion of Worms, Justice Strikes Back, Champion of Chaos, Dragunity of the Hurricane, Charge of the Genex and Pulse of the Trishula in the OCG, with support also released in The Shining Darkness. Several were released in the TCG in Hidden Arsenal, and more will be released in Duel Terminal 1 and Hidden Arsenal 2. Intoxicated Bug of the Ice Barrier will be released in Duel Terminal 1 under the name Numbing Grub in the Ice Barrier, I have used its original name as I prefer it.)

_**Spells:**_

Absolute Zero Barrier

Field Spell Card

Image: A robed man confronting a monstrous dragon in a cavern of ice.

Each monster on the field loses ATK equal to the number of "Ice Counter(s)" on it x 500. In addition, monsters with at least 1 "Ice Counter" cannot attack.

(Absolute Zero Barrier was used by Asuka in the GX manga. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of the GX manga.)

05

Cyber Replacement

Quick-Play Spell Card

Image: A Cyber Phoenix being melted down in a vat of molten metal, with a Cyber Dragon Zwei emerging from a manufacturing line below.

Remove from play 1 Machine-Type monster from your Graveyard and Special Summon 1 Machine-Type monster with the same Level from your Deck.

*

Scrap Synchron

Normal Spell Card

Image: A Dark Strike Fighter lying in a junkyard, its surface heavily rusted and corroded.

Remove from play 1 Machine-Type Synchro Monster from your Graveyard and activate one of the following effects: • Gain Life Points equal to its Level x 300. •Draw 1 card for every 3 Levels it has.

*

Charge of the Genex

Normal Spell Card

Image: Genex Gaia, Genex Blast and Genex Controller charging together towards Worm Cartaros, Worm Barses and Worm Apocalypse.

Activate only when you have 2 or more 'Genex' monsters in your Graveyard. Special Summon 1 Level 4 or below 'Genex' monster from your Deck, it is destroyed during the End Phase.

(The above three cards are my own inventions and creative credit for them goes to me.)

05

Blasting Vein

Normal Spell Card

Image: A reversed card being consumed by flames.

Destroy 1 face-down Spell or Trap Card you control. Draw 2 cards.

(Blasting Vein was first used by O'Brien in Episode 109 of GX. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of GX.)

05

Icicle Sacrifice

Normal Spell Card

Image: A towering pillar of ice in the middle of a blizzard.

When this card is activated, select 1 of your unoccupied Monster Card Zones. The designated Monster Card Zone cannot be used during this Duel. Special Summon 1 "Icicle Token" (Aqua-Type/WATER/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0). If you Tribute Summon a monster, you can treat the "Icicle Token" as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon.

(Icicle Sacrifice was first used by the brainwashed Asuka in Episode 93 of GX. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of GX.)

05

Battle Waltz

Normal Spell Card

Image: A blue-skinned four-legged human with six arms brandishing various items and three masked faces, wearing a golden crown standing before a crimson seal.

Activate by selecting 1 Synchro Monster you control. Special Summon 1 "Waltz Token" (its Attribute, Type, Level, ATK, and DEF are the same as the selected monster's). Any Battle Damage either player takes as a result of this token battling becomes 0. Until the End Phase of this turn, an opponent's monster that destroys this token by battle loses ATK equal to this token's ATK.

(Battle Waltz was first used by Yusei in Episode 57 of 5D's. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of 5D's.)

_**Trap Cards:**_

Frost Attrition

Continuous Trap Card

Image: Marauding Captain and Exiled Force being frozen solid as they attempt to march on through a blizzard.

During each turn's End Phase, place 1 Ice Counter on each monster on the field except for WATER monsters.

(Frost Attrition is my own invention and creative credit for it goes to me.)

05

Synchro Spirits

Normal Trap Card

Image: Junk Synchron and White Magician Pikeru rising from bursts of white energy, with Junk Warrior towering over them from behind.

Select 1 Synchro Monster from your Graveyard and remove it from play. If all of the monsters that were used for the Synchro Summon of that monster are in your Graveyard, you can Special Summon them to your side of the field.

(Synchro Spirits was first used by Yusei in Episode 21 of 5D's. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of 5D's.)

05

Freezing Boundary

Normal Trap Card

Image: A fish swimming forwards, only to be stopped dead as it is frozen solid.

Reduce the ATK of an attacking monster to 0 and negate that attack. That monster cannot change battle position and its effects are negated.

(Freezing Boundary was used by Asuka in the GX manga. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of the GX manga.)

05

Synchro Overlimit

Normal Trap Card

Image: Arcanite Magician diving towards the foreground, with a negative reflection below him.

Activate only when a Synchro Monster you control destroys an opponent's monster by battle. It can attack once again this turn. Destroy that monster at the end of its attack.

(Synchro Overlimit was first used by Yusei in Episode 86 of 5D's. Creative credit for it goes to the writers of 5D's.)

05

So with that Duel concluded, Paolo goes out on patrol, but when he encounters a fearsome Shadow, he is forced into a Riding Duel where he faces a series of powerful new monsters! Can he come out on top?

To find out, read Chapter 7 of Shrouded World: Dark Flare!


End file.
